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New Yen 



LIFE 



OF 



WILLIAM T. PORTER. 



BY 



FRANCIS BRINLEY. 



NEW YORK : 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 

443 & 445 BROADWAY. 

LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN. 

M.DCCC.LX. 



w 



A* 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, 

By D. APPLETON & CO., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 

District of New York. 



>/ s 



THE FRIENDS OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE 

AND 

HIS BEOTHERS, 

ftfcw Wohxm 

IS EESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 

BY 

FRANCIS BRINLEY. 



Boston, March 13, 1360. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



Ancestry of William T. Porter.— Samuel Porter of England.— Colonel 
Asa Porter, graduate of Harvard College. — Merchant in Newbury - 
port. — Marries Mehitable Crocker. — Removes to Haverhill, N. H. — 
His estate on Connecticut River. — The Crocker Family. — Gov. Went- 
worth. — Colonel Porter's fondness for fine horses. — Arthur Liver- 
more. — Children of Colonel Porter. — Judge Farrand. — Thomas W. 
Thompson. — Miles Olcott. — Benjamin Porter. — Governor Peter Olcott. 
Newbury, Vt. — David Johnson. — William C. Thompson. — William 
Trotter. — Letters of Benjamin Porter, father of William T. — Daniel 
Webster. — Jasper Murdock. — George Blake. — Death of Benjamin 
Porter. — Rev. Dr. Shurtleth. — Dr. Muzzey. — Death of Col. Porter 
and his wife. — Description of Hanover, N. H. — Moore's Indian 
Charity School, and its preceptor A. F. Putnam. — William T. Porter 
a pupil. — His youthful habits. — School days. — William reads a life 
of Franklin, and resolves to be a printer. — Enters an office at An- 
dover, Mass. — His first visit to Boston. — Death of his mother. — Dr. T. 
0. Porter. — Judge Perley. — Rufus Choate. — Obituary of Hon. Miles 
Olcott, 1 



CHAPTER II. 

William T. Porter commences life as editor of " The Farmer's Herald," 
St. Johnsbury, Vt. — Removes to Norwich, Conn., and edits "The 
Enquirer." — Goes to New York. — Horace Greeley. — Mr. Porter estab- 



VI CONTENTS. 

lishes "The Spirit of the Times" in 1831.— Paper so named by. his 
brother Benjamin. — State of feeling as to Sports of the Turf— Intro- 
duction of racing in this country. — John Neal — Maryland and South 
Carolina.— Prices of prime horses.— Friends of the Turf.— New York 
Jockey Club.— Mr. Porter's visit to the South and West.— George 
Porter. — Origin of Mr. Porter's sobriquet, " York's Tall Son." 82 



CHAPTER III. 

New York Jockey Club. — Turf Convention proposed. — Argument of George 
Porter on a betting question. — Letter of Miles Olcott. — " The Spirit 
of the Times," a coveted name. — Subscription raised from five to ten 
dollars. — " The Turf Register." — Race of Boston and Charles Carter. — 
Letter from J. S. Skinner. — Description of the early members of the 
Turf Register, as edited by Mr. Porter.— Frank Forester, a name. 
suggested by George Porter. — Cypress, Jr., N. of Arkansas. — Eng- 
lish Sporting periodicals. — Mr. Porter goes South, . . 54 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Corsair" published by Dr. T. 0. Porter and N. P. Willis.— General 
Lamar. — He offers office to Dr. Porter in Texas. — Letter from Daniel 
Webster. — Barclay Street. — The five Brothers Porter established in 
New York. — "The Doctor" a good talker. — William Porter's idea of 
editorial qualifications. — His clear judgment. — His generosity. — Per- 
sonal appearance of the Porters. — Frank Monteverde's in Barclay 
Street. — The house, and its patrons by " the Juvenile," . . 73 



CHAPTER V. 
Report of the Race between Wagner and Grey Eagle by Mr. Porter, 101 

CHAPTER VI. 

Raids into his sanctum. — Death of Benjamin Porter. — Numerous accounts 
of the commissions with which the editor was loaded. — "Big Bear" 
of Arkansas. — Colonel T. B. Thorpe. — Race Between Sarah Bladen 
and Luda, and between Grey Medoc, Altorf, and Denizen. — Thorough- 
bred Colts in Kentucky. — Return of Robert L. Stevens from Europe. — 
Change in the proprietorship of the "Spirit of the Times." — John 
Richards, " The Governor." — Profit and Loss account, . . 137 



CONTENTS. Vll 



CHAPTER VII. 



Race of Boston and Fashion. — George Porter removes to New Orleans, 
and becomes assistant editor of the Picayune. — Francis T. Porter. — 
He joins George in New Orleans, and is associated with the Picayune's 
reports of races.— Letter from Hon. Alexander Porter. — Foot races of 
Gildersleeve and Greenholgh. — Remarks on them by N. P. Willis. — 
In 1845, the subscription price of the Spirit reduced from ten to five 
dollars, its original price. — Article by Mr. Porter in support of the 
Turf. — Original American sketches substituted for articles from British 
periodicals. — His " Curiosity Shop." — " Presentation of Plate" to the 
editor. — Mr. Porter publishes a volume of sketches taken from his 
paper, and edits " Hawker on Guns and Shooting." — New York 
Yacht Club. — Mr. Blunt's eloquence. — " Theatrical Fund Associa- 
tion," recommended by Mr. Porter. — Death of .Judge Duval. — Of 
John Boardman — Of Alexander Porter — And of Henry Inman. — 
Inman Gallery.— Letters of Captain W. Seton Henry, during the 
Mexican "War, ....... 150 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Angling, . . . . . . . . . 211 



CHAPTER IX. 

Foreign circulation of the Spirit. — Mr. Porter visits Boston. — Dinner 
given him at the Norfolk House. — First symptoms of gout. — Death of 
George Porter in New Orleans. — Letter from Professor Brown, of 
Dartmouth College, in regard to George. — Notices of his death. — 
Death of Dr. Porter. — Obituary by Herbert. — Death of Frank Porter 
in New Orleans. — His letters. — Character. — His visit to Europe. — ■ 
The effect of Frank's death on William Porter. — His salutatory in 
1856. — Leaves the " Old Spirit," and starts " Porter's Spirit of the 
Times," with George Wilkes, Esq. — Its great success. — Mr. Porter's 
impaired health. — His death, July 13, 1858. — General expression of 
sorrow. — Obituaries by "Acorn." — James Oakes, Esq., of Boston. — 
By George Wilkes, Esq. — Stanzas to his memory by R. S. Chilton, 
Esq., of Washington. — Motive of the author in preparing this 
volume, ........ 245 



• 






<* 



wm-M\ 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 



CHAPTEK I. 

William Trotter Por- 
ter,* third son of Benjamin 
Porter and Martha Olcott, 
born in Newbury, Ver- 
mont, December 24, 1809, 
was of the eighth genera- 
tion from Samuel Porter, 
who emigrated with his wife 
from the west of England 
to Plymouth in 1622. Asa 
Porter, grandfather of "William, was born May 26, 
1742, and graduated at Harvard College in 1762. 
He established himself as a merchant at Newbury- 
port, where he married Mehitable, daughter of John 




* Arms of Porter. — Per Chevron sa. and ar. Three church-bells 
counterchanged, each charged with an ermine-spot, also counter- 
changed. Crest, an antelope's head, erased ar., attired or., collaied 
gu., therefrom on the centre of the neck, a bell pendant, sa. charged 
with an ermine-spot ar. 
1 



a LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

Crocker, Esq.* The love of adventure, and the restless 
activity of the men of those days in plans for better- 
ing their condition, indnced many of the inhabitants 
in the immediate neighborhood of Newburyport to 
seek new homes and larger possessions in the Coo's 
Country, which was even then celebrated for the fer- 
tility of its vast meadows and the richness of its grand 
intervals. Col. Porter yielded to the impulse, and 
some time prior to 1780, removed to Haverhill, !N". H., 
having purchased a valuable tract of land near the 
Little Oxbow, on the Eastern bank of the Connecti- 
cut River, where, upon one of its fairest and most 
graceful sweeps, which his trained eye selected as a 
spot susceptible of attractive ornament and profitable 
culture, he built a durable and ample mansion, that 

* He was a direct descendant from William Crocker, who came 
from England to this country about 1630. John Crocker was remark- 
able for his fine form and manly beauty, as well as for great moral purity 
of life and character. He was " nimble and blithe as a child, and up 
to the time of his death, without the stoop of age ; everybody loved 
him." Mary, his wife, was a daughter of Thomas Savage, whose 
father (H. C. 1659) married Hannah, daughter of the Hon. Edward 
Tyng, May 8, 1661. Of the other daughters of Mr. Tyng, Mary mar- 
ried Gov. Searl, of Barbadoes ; Rebecca married Gov. Joseph Dudley, 
of Massachusetts ; and Eunice married the Rev. Samuel Willard, Presi- 
dent of Harvard College. 

The Crockers are descended from Sir John Crocker, Knight, cup- 
bearer to Edward IV., who was from a branch of the house of Crocker, 
of Lyncham, in the County of Devon ; a name so eminent that there is 
an old proverbial distich, or as Prince calls, an old saw, recording its 
antiquity : 

" Crocker, Crirwys, and Coplestone, 
When the Conqueror came, were at home." 

Worthies of Devon, p. 274. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 6 

to this day commands the admiration of the traveller. 
His removal to a comparatively remote and unsettled 
part of the country, which, no later than 1754, the 
Legislature of Kew Hampshire designated as a region 
" hitherto unknown," would of itself establish his 
character for vigorous enterprise. 

Here amidst magnificent scenery, grew up a well- 
trained and intellectual family, whose home was the 
favorite resort of the cultivated and refined. Col. 
Porter was a model of affability and dignity ; never 
laying aside the garb or the deportment of a gentle- 
man of the old school, but always preserving his 
courtly air and address without sacrificing a particle 
of his self-reliant energy and fearlessness. He is 
described by one, who remembers him, as " slow to 
anger, of a forgiving disposition and kind to the poor. 
In civility and politeness excelled by none." In reli- 
gion he was an Episcopalian, in politics a Royalist, 
and as he wrote to Lord Dorchester, " severely felt 
the resentment of that part of his countrymen which 
then prevailed, and suffered greatly in his person and 
property ; " in consideration of which he received 
from the Crown a grant of the township of Broome, 
in Canada. Indeed, his landed estate was immense, 
and has been estimated as high as one hundred thou- 
sand acres. At one time he owned a large part of 
Topsham, Vermont, and extensive tracts in neighbor- 
ing towns. He claimed, also, the town of Woodstock, 
Vermont, and was offered a crown ($1.10) per acre, 
to compromise his claim ; but with characteristic 
tenacity of purpose, he refused the offer, and held to 



4: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

liis title. until it was ultimately decided against him. 
Most of the lands of New Hampshire and Vermont, 
about the middle of the last century, and somewhat 
later, were held by the Crown, and grants were made 
to individuals ; though nominally made by the Crown, 
in many cases, the names of the grantees were inserted 
by the Governor. Col. Porter frequently had a direct 
interest in such grants ; but more commonly, he pur- 
chased the rights of the grantees for a small consid- 
eration. One of the provisions of these grants was, 
that five hundred acres in each township were re- 
served to the Governor. Col. Porter became the 
owner of many of these tracts, called the " Governor's 
Rights," and sometimes, " Governor's Corners." As 
an illustration of his persevering enterprise it may be 
stated that to fulfil a contract with the British Govern- 
ment for building a bridge at Quebec, he accompanied 
his men on foot from Haverhill to that city. He did 
not look like one capable of the effort, but he had 
hardened himself by keeping up the habits of gentle- 
men of that time, who accustomed themselves to 
robust exercise, and he was therefore able to accom- 
plish an undertaking apparently much beyond his 
strength, without serious inconvenience. Pride and 
policy may have stimulated him to encounter the 
fatigue of this journey on foot, since, according to a 
French proverb, " II est aise d'aller a pied quand on 
tient son cheval par la bride ;" and though he had a 
select stable, he preferred to walk on the occasion as 
an encouragement to his men. 

In truth his passion for fine horses was not inferior 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 5 

to his ambition for ample fields. He spared no pains 
in purchasing blood of pure strain. Some of his best 
stock was obtained of his friend Gov. Wentworth, 
that rare sportsman and accomplished gentleman, who 
did much to improve the breed of horses in New 
Hampshire, at his princely establishment at Wolfs- 
borough, on the shores of Lake Winnipiseogee. 

Though Col. Porter was a devoted Boyalist, he 
did not inherit that faith, his father being a zealous 
Whig. There is an amusing testimony to the fact in 
the records of the Committee of Safety of New Hamp- 
shire, as it seems that the son was apprehended on 
suspicion of Toryism about the year 1777, and dis- 
charged from arrest on giving bond in the sum of 
£500 that he would repair forthwith to his father in 
Boxford, and not depart from his farm for the term 
of one year, except to attend divine service on the 
Lord's day. The Committee may have been over- 
zealous ; at any rate he was ever faithful and loyal to 
the new government, under whose protection he lived 
and prospered for so many years. 

It is a family tradition that during the revolution 
business obliged him to visit Boston. He set off in 
his own sleigh, which had the arms of England em- 
blazoned upon the back. As he drove into town, he 
was surprised to find his sleigh an obnoxious mark 
of attraction; while vociferous threats soon warned 
him of the cause of the unexpected hostility. At first 
he was inclined to pay no other heed to it than start- 
ing up his horses a little ; but multiplied volleys of 
missiles and of words admonished him to take counsel 



O LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

of his discretion, and lie stopped at a painter's shop 
and had the obnoxious blazonry effaced. On his re- 
turn home, his wife was at the door to welcome him. 
She soon perceived the discoloration of the back of 
the sleigh, and with ready intuition divined the 
cause. She was of remarkable spirit, and entered 
into the political faith of her husband with all the 
animation of her character. She ordered her women 
to bring soap and brushes, and without a thought of 
the cold air, or too tender regard for her own fair 
hands, she picked her way on her little high-heels to 
the sleigh, and never stopped scrubbing until the old 
Lion and the Unicorn reappeared " fighting for the 
crown," as fresh as on the day they parted from her 
loyal eyes. 

Arthur Livermore, Esq.,* now of Missouri, in 
writing of Col. Porter to Mrs. Brinley, says : " He 
was beyond dispute a man of a good deal of charac- 
ter. I hardly know whether I can with propriety say 
to you, his descendant, what I have very often said 
to those who have known you all as I have known 
you ; that Col. Porter has given this proof of having 
been thoroughbred, as we say of a horse, that he im- 
pressed upon all his posterity, through several gen- 
erations, very remarkable common characteristics ; 

* Son of Judge Arthur Livermore, and grandson of the eminent 
Judge Samuel Livermore. The latter went to New Hampshire simul- 
taneously with Col. Porter, and purchased an estate at Holderness, 
where, amidst the most romantic lake scenery, he built a mansion- 
house, which would be conspicuous for stateliness even in these days 
of ambitious architecture. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 7 

marks that distinguish them from all others. This is 
said neither in the way of flattery nor disparagement, 
nor with any purpose to be personal. He was from 
all accounts a gentleman. His associations were with 
such. His daughters married gentlemen, and his 
sons, gentlewomen. In person he has been described 
to me as a spare man, and to have been in the habit 
of wearing a good overcoat of sable skins on one side 
and scarlet cloth on the other. He was accustomed 
to say that it was a foolish thing to try to brave the 
cold. The right way was to guard well against it by 
abundant clothing." 

By his marriage Col. Porter had six children, 
John, Benjamin, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Moses. 
The daughters were brilliant and accomplished 
women, receiving their education at Eewburyport 
and Boston. 

The Judicial Courts for the northern part of E~ew 
Hampshire were held at Haverhill Corner, about 
seven miles south of Col. Porter's, and the attrac- 
tions of his daughters, his generous hospitality and 
reputed wealth, brought the members of the bar 
to his house in goodly numbers ; some of them 
prosecuted their suits with success, for the three 
daughters married gentlemen of the legal profes- 
sion ; Mary, the Hon. Judge Farrand ; Elizabeth, 
the Hon. Thomas W. Thompson ; and Sarah, the Hon. 
Mills Olcott. 

Col. Porter's son Benjamin, so named for his an- 
cestor, Benjamin Crocker, Esq., was born at New- 
buryport, July 13, 1771, and on the 11th of October, 



8 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

1800, was married to Martha, daughter of Gov. Peter 
Olcott,* of Norwich, Yt., and established himself in 
the law at Newbury, in that State. 

The town of Newbury occupies a natural terrace 
above the broad, rich sweep of the meadows, flanked 
on the westerly side by a high, wooded, almost per- 
pendicular ridge called Mt. Pulaski, which, in that 
direction, serves to the village as a kind of dbat-vent 
to keep off the keen blasts of the early spring. Tow- 
ards the other points of compass, the horizon 
widens into great beauty and grandeur, embracing 
a chain of hills forming the lower elevations of the 
White Mountains, which can be traced from the top 
of Mt. Pulaski, in all their diversity of shape and 
coloring, until they unite with Mts. Washington and 
Lafayette ; the pale, spectral pinnacles of those thaw- 
less snow-peaks being clearly discerned from New- 
bury as sharply cut against the sky as on the day 
Noah removed the covering from the ark. Towards 
the south the prospect lies open to a length of the 
Connecticut Yalley, " the asylum of love and philoso- 
phy," as well as of labor and comfort ; its velvet car- 
pets of greensward dotted over with groups of majes- 
tic trees and grazing cattle, hemmed in by the naked 
crests of New Hampshire and the undulating ranges 
of the Green Mountains, and apparently terminating 

* Gov. Olcott was of the sixth generation in descent from Thomas 
Olcott, a merchant in London, who emigrated with his wife, a daughter 
of David Forter, Esq., of that city, to Connecticut. He brought with 
him the experience and fruits of successful enterprise, and was one of 
the founders of the commerce of that Colony. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 9 

at the foot of Ascutney, which stands out against the 
southern sky like the fragmentary walls of some colos- 
sal barrier, to guard it from the outer world ; its 
loftiest points kindling into spires of gold, while the 
soft gray shadows of night are yet lying upon the 
valley. 

Here, among these meadows, blue hills, and wide 
sky, the lives of William T. Porter and his brothers 
took their shape and coloring. Their home included 
the firesides of father and grandfather, so closely were 
they united by the tenderest of ties, both marked by 
the same unaffected tone of polite life, enlarged hospi- 
tality, love of out-of-door existence, and study of the 
best authors. Benjamin Porter, their father, was a 
man of vigorous stamp. A keen observer, a sound 
lawyer, active and energetic in his practice, with con- 
tinual opportunities, even in that retired portion of 
the country, for the display of acumen and learning 
in disentangling the legal perplexities, and conduct- 
ing the controversies in which his father had neces- 
sarily become involved during a long and busy life in 
a community where land titles were undetermined, 
and the conflicting claims of settlers, tenants, and 
proprietors were the subjects of frequent and pro- 
tracted litigation. Indeed, his large-heartedness, popu- 
lar manners, and strict integrity secured the friendship 
of numerous clients at home and abroad, and the con- 
fidence of all who were brought within the range of 
his manly influence. " He was about the same height 
as his father," writes one of his neighbors, David 
Johnson, Esq., still living at the advanced age of 
1* 



10 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 

eighty-two, " but more fleshy and of a larger frame, 
and was what may be called a handsome, well-built 
man, more familiar in his habits and intercourse with 
his neighbors than his father. A very active busi- 
ness man, benevolent, free, and open hearted. He 
had a very charming, lovely, and amiable wife." 

Wm. C. Thompson, Esq., a nephew of Mr. Porter, 
thus writes of his uncle's appearance when in the 
prime of life : " Both Mr. and Mrs. Porter were very 
handsome persons ; more so than either of their chil- 
dren, and this is saying much. Mr. Porter's form was 
like his son Ben's, but taller, more active, and muscu- 
lar. He had a round, frank voice, and, as I remember 
him when I was a boy, was particularly pleasant and 
kind to children. He lived in a liberal and hospitable 
style, inheriting his father's tastes for owning lands, 
and farms, and capital horses." Mrs. Porter was 
a beautiful and attractive woman, remarkable for 
her dignity of character and ease of manners. She 
had irrepressible buoyancy of temper, united to the 
kindest sympathies, and a goodness that lives in 
the hearts of 'many to this late day, who never 
speak of her but with tears of reverence and grateful 
love. 

To fit his children for the ends and aims of life, 
Mr. Porter employed judicious teachers of both sexes 
under his own roof, until they were old enough to be 
sent from home to school, and at every opportunity 
of leisure from the exactions of professional labor, 
gave them his personal instruction. About this time, 
1812, William was taking his first lessons in spelling, 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 11 

under the paternal roof, from one of the most amiable 
of teachers, who afterwards married William Trotter, 
Esq., an especial friend of Mr. Porter, and for whom 
he named his son.* 

Mr. Porter was a capital horseman, and was every 
day more or less in the saddle as his engagements 
would permit. 

In early life he was in the habit of making long 
journeys on horseback, as was the fashion of the day, 
starting, off for Quebec, Boston, or New York, with 
less bustle of preparation than in these days of rapid 
locomotion, although the time occupied in one of those 
old-fashioned horseback expeditions seems now almost 
incredible. In one of his letters dated Newbury, Dec. 
3, 1798, addressed to his sister Sarah, then at school 
in Boston, he writes : " To have spent the evening of 
my return home, after a seventeen days' journey, in 
the society of my dear sister, would, to say the least, 
have been happier than some hours of the way. My 
route mostly by water to Quebec, was as rapid as I 
could have desired, but my journey home was as in- 
clement as the season. Not an inch without pain, 
not a step without a groan. Thus for two successive 
winters I have made this journey (expeditions of little 
moment at a moderate season), when hardly a human 

* She is still living to recall with melancholy interest those days of 
childhood at Newbury. She assures us that William's desire to make 
a figure in life was in him from the start, for when playfully asked, be- 
fore he could speak plain, what profession he intended to adorn when 
he became a man, he invariably replied, drawing himself up with dig- 
nity, " I intend to preach to make the peoples dood." 



12 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

being could stir from the fireside from the severity 
of the weather." 

In the following allusion, to one of his female 
friends at Quebec, in the same letter, we get at the 
whole heart of the man : " The specimen of your 
painting, dear S., so long promised to my friend Mrs. 
"W., could hardly be dispensed with, considering the 
long friendship and thousand civilities to Papa and 
myself. I could only renew the promise that my next 
visit should bear it to her. Pardon me, ye belles of 
Quebec, if I felt more regret at leaving this good, 
old, sensible, thoroughbred, Christian, New England 
woman than all the fine faces your town can boast ; 
and were I for the example of some darling favor- 
ite of your sex to describe the good wife and 
agreeable friend, my pen would point involuntarily to 
Mrs. W» 

He closes his letter with some wholesome advice, 
which is quite as pertinent in these days of ultra re- 
finement in the education of the daughters of the 
land as at the time he wrote : " Col. W. tells me that 
his daughter already speaks very good French. This 
is all very well for Miss W., as she is to reside in 
town. But I declare, dear S., I do not believe it will 
be ever asked of a girl who lives one hundred and 
fifty miles from salt water, and who reads with pro- 
priety, spells correctly, writes handsomely, and com- 
poses easily and elegantly in good old English, whether 
she pronounces French a* la mode. There are in 
my humble opinion many other both mental and 
personal accomplishments, together with a long list 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 13 

of domestic attainments, much more necessary in a 
fine woman's education, although in that of a gentle- 
man it is quite indispensable. I abhor French senti- 
ments and the hideous tone of French novels ; but I 
love the language, and am far from wishing with "W". 
that every French fop in this country should starve 
because he can do nothing better than lisp his mother 
tongue." 

In connection with Mr. Porter's journeys to Cana 
da in the saddle, we are reminded of several in which 
he was accompanied by Daniel Webster, while the 
latter was a law student with Mr. Thompson, (brother- 
in-law of Mr. Porter,) at Salisbury. In 1801-2, Mr. 
Thompson was accompanied by Mr. Webster to 
Newbury upon the occasion of one of the former's 
visits at Mr. Porter's house. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Porter became very fond of him, and perhaps among 
the many pleasant recollections of Mr. Webster's 
early manhood which served as an animating relief 
from his first struggles, and afterwards from the toil 
of a crowded professional life, none were recalled with 
keener pleasure than his visits to old Coos during the 
ten years following his first introduction. In anti- 
cipation of their recurrence, Mr. Porter arranged 
several horseback journeys to Canada, in which Mr. 
Webster was to participate, and sometimes as his sole 
companion. The pleasure they derived from the 
social qualities of each other, can be readily imagined 
by those who knew and loved them both. The ripe 
and instructed mind of the elder friend kept charmed 
and amused by the originality and buoyant vivacity 



14 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

of that great mind which was destined to give light 
to a nation long after the other had sunk to his rest. 
In the later years of the life of Mr. Webster he stated 
to us with marked emphasis and feeling, that Mr. 
Porter was the most attractive social companion he 
had ever known. It was during his visits at Mr. 
Porter's house that the foundation of a friendship was 
laid which became a source of life-long enjoyment to 
Mr. Webster. The youthful object of his regard was 
the orphan niece of Mrs. Porter, the only child of her 
sister, Sarah Olcott, and the Hon. Jasper Murdock. 
Upon the death of her parents she was consigned to 
the care of her grandfather, Gov. Olcott. At the 
time of Mrs. Porter's marriage she transplanted the 
beautiful exotic of her family to her own fireside, and 
scrupulously provided that she should acquire at 
home and abroad those accomplishments which, 
united to her eminent personal charms, qualified her 
to grace and adorn her own distinguished home upon 
the event of her marriage, June 25, 1810, to Hon. 
George Blake, of Boston. Many of Mr. Webster's 
most interesting letters during his early public career, 
were addressed to her, and are contained in the vol- 
umes of his correspondence. She died in the prime 
of her days, a few months following the death of her 
adopted mother. 

During the summer of 1817, Mr. Porter first be- 
came aware of an incipient affection of the heart, 
though only a few weeks previous to the approach 
of any symptoms of the kind he said to a friend : 
" I am certain I shall live to a great age. Look 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 15 

at my breadth of chest. I feel long life in every 
muscle." 

Physicians were consulted at the first apprehen- 
sion, and by their advice he gave up all business, and 
retired with his family to one of his farms, where he 
kept up his almost daily exercise in the saddle, until 
his increasing infirmities obliged him to discontinue it 
altogether. He was finally induced in the following 
summer to try the effect of a journey to Saratoga, 
where a consultation of eminent physicians was held 
upon his case. Previous to the consultation his letters 
evince a sanguine hope of ultimate restoration. 

Alas! it was not to be. The decision of the 
physicians was unfavorable to his hopes, and by 
slow and painful progress, accompanied by his 
wife and son Benjamin, he reached Mr. Olcott's at 
Hanover. It was impossible to go any further. Day 
by day he became weaker, until all expectation of 
recovery was abandoned, and his parents and intimate 
friends were summoned to see him die. The event 
took place at five o'clock in the afternoon of Sunday, 
August 2d, 1818. His clergyman, the venerable Dr. 
Shurtleff, of Hanover, and Dr. Muzzey, his physician, 
both still living in honorable age, testify to the forti- 
tude of the dying man. Dr. Shurtleff has within a 
short time described to us the closing scene, which in 
solemnity, calm resignation, and tender solicitude for 
the family of his love, he had never, in his lengthened 
experience, seen surpassed. 

He sleeps in the quiet church-yard at Hanover, in 
compliance with his expressed wish, as he foresaw, 



16 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

that to give his eldest son, then in college, the benefit 
of a home, to secure to his other children the advan- 
tage of academic training, and at the same time place 
Mrs. Porter where she could have the immediate 
counsel and protection of her brother, Mr. Olcott, she 
would almost of necessity select Hanover for her resi- 
dence after the death of his parents. Three months 
after his death, his father died. In a worldly 
view the death of father and son, so near to each 
other, was most deeply to be deplored. The former 
died in the belief that he had great wealth; but 
much of his really extensive estate consisted in 
unproductive tracts of land not readily convertible 
into money or easily managed. The son had stepped 
aside from his profession to embark in various 
enterprises of pith and high promise, which his 
sudden and long-continued bodily prostration obliged 
him to surrender or neglect. His large expecta- 
tions seemed to warrant his extended operations, and 
if five years more of active life had been vouch- 
safed to him, and the estate of his father been kept 
together, his sons, who derived little or no benefit 
from the vast landed property of their grandfather, 
would have been rich and independent, and spared 
the crushing weight of narrow circumstances and dis- 
appointed hopes. 

" During the summer of 1821," writes Mrs. Brinley, 
the youngest daughter of Mr. Porter, "my mother 
removed to Hanover, having purchased a pic- 
turesque old residence which occupied the highest 
site in the village, a few steps from where the 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 17 

present observatory stands. It was a large, faded, 
tranquil-looking, one story house, covering a good 
deal of ground, of no special color, but mellow with 
the lapse of time and changing seasons, and had been 
originally built for one of the presidents of the col- 
lege. The prospect which it commanded on every 
side was of wide-spread character, full of variety and 
heavenly beauty. Even as children we were never 
tired of looking at the distant blue line of sky, the 
far-off mountains in the north, the long, low ridge of 
jagged rocky hills in the rear, and the great purple 
and gold summits of Ascutney, now almost within 
arm's length, which we believed to be a celestial 
highway to the battlements of God's home. Directly 
opposite to us, across the river, were our own beloved 
hills of Vermont, the hills of our birthright, the hills 
of the setting sun, piled up into the vast heavens, with 
all their pastures, forests, brooks, clouds, and busy 
human life. 

" The village of Hanover was just below us, fresh, 
compact, and shining as a mosaic, with its venerable 
college, solemn old church, and clusters of white dwell- 
ings in a square setting of young elm trees, which lent 
a grateful shade to the romantic footpaths round the 
common. A little removed from the village on the 
westerly side, a narrow, beautifully shaded avenue led 
gently to the common burying-ground. It was of the 
genuine New England pilgrim stamp ; its monumen- 
tal tombs and graves abandoned to weeds and nettles 
and relentless gloom, inclosed by a plain board fence 
stained with the damps and moulds of time, hemmed 



18 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

in and choked np by the high grass, rank shrubs, and 
matted ivy which trailed over it. A few stunted 
trees were scattered here and there, but shrivelled 
into lifeless skeletons, as if unable to resist the inex- 
orable destiny written all about them. The situa- 
tion of the old burial place, however, was beautiful, 
upon the verge of a deep gorge between two hills 
lined with a thick growth of young forest trees ; over- 
looking the gently swelling valley, the winding river, 
and the purple masses of surrounding hill. At this 
day the spot has participated in the general spirit of 
improvement of burial places throughout New Eng- 
land, and is not only ' embosomed soft in trees,' but 
includes within its limits the wooded gorge which 
already enshrines within its shaded depths the sleep- 
ing dust of inestimable worth and virtue. 

" On my mother's arrival at Hanover, no time was 
lost in placing her four youngest children, William, 
George, Frank, and myself, at the prominent school 
of the town, which was then connected with Dart- 
mouth College, the President of the College being ex 
officio President of the Academy. This school was 
originally established for the education of Indian 
youths, and the corporate name was ' Moore's Indian 
Charity School,' but for many years it had been open 
to pupils of both sexes on payment of a small tuition 
fee. The Dominie, Archelaus F. Putnam, (Scholse 
Moorensis Preceptor, as appears in the Dartmouth 
College Catalogue,) presided over the destinies of 
that institution, only known to me and to the rest of 
his pupils by the familiar name of ' Old Put? I 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 19 

never knew from what part of the zodiac he radiated, 
who gave him birth, who taught him Greek and 
Latin, whether he was or was not the namesake of 
the lineal descendant of the second son of the Judean 
Governor who was driven out of his dominions for his 
cruelty ; whether he was Orthodox or Heterodox ; 
whether he believed in Simon Magus, who prescribed 
lively bodily mortification from a notion that it had a 
happy influence in enlarging the mind, or sided with 
Hierax, who regarded children, " till the age of 
reason," as outcasts from heaven, and to be treated 
as young rebels or sinners ; or sympathized with that 
sect which sprung up in Italy in 1260, taking their 
name from the Latin flagello, and maintaining stoutly 
that a brisk application of the whip on the shoulders 
was of equal virtue with the sacraments ; but of the 
personal appearance of the Dominie, I have a distinct 
impression. He was an emaciated, narrow-chested 
man, above the medium height, with a pale, rigid 
face — eyes inexorable and full of danger, though 
chafed into a sick and pale dimness, with a mouth 
that vibrated betwixt a snappish irritability and 
an evident attempt to appear undisturbed, and at 
times even jocular. With the utmost diligence in 
our studies, and the closest observance of the rules 
of the school, it was impossible to escape the humili- 
ating blows of a mahogany ruler, which carried 
out the bent of his humor from day to day, by 
capricious hammerings of our sacred persons, that in 
time threatened to break down the stoutest heart 
amongst us. 



20 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

" Instinct and intellect, however, were quickened 
by its lightning strokes down to their secret springs 
of inspiration, and vigorous progress was the result 
in every department. The very atmosphere of old 
Darmouth at that period communicated a sturdy emu- 
lation in both parents and children. Scholarship 
was the all-in-all creed of the day. Infants were 
expected to lisp Greek before the appearance of their 
first tooth — the very air was said to be freighted with 
Lysbian lyrics, and precedents of rare excellence 
among the graduates of the college were forever kept 
before the eyes of old and young. The whole coun- 
try ringing with the fame of Mr. Webster, and 
the e very-day presence of Mr. Choate, then a tutor 
in college, in the rich bloom of his personal beauty, 
with a reputation more circumscribed but not less 
commanding within its sphere of display than the 
fame which surrounded him at the day of his 
death, gave impulse and courage to every young 
ambitious spirit within sound of the college or acade- 
my bell. 

" During these years of unflagging industry, Wil- 
liam made great progress in his studies ; and though 
often detected with a volume of Dr. Fox, or the 
Complete Angler, within the leaves of his Virgil, he 
was considered ' up to his work ' in Greek and 
Latin, and ranked high as a scholar. Out of 
school at that time he was always reading. He re- 
membered well and accurately what he read, and in 
the selection of books from the college library, to 
which he had access, he evinced a characteristic 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 21 

preference for works of stirring action and the biog- 
raphies of enterprising men. 

" In appearance he was very striking, remarkably 
handsome and tall for his years, promising, if time 
kept on, to reach the ' supreme pitch ' of old Fried- 
rich Wilhelm's Life-guard Regiment of Foot. 

u Roughness and coarseness, such as are common 
even to most well-trained boys, were entirely out of 
his line. "We do not recollect to have ever seen 
him angry, though he could plant his foot down 
occasionally in the shape of an opinion equal to 
the Dominie. His character at this age was the 
same as when he came to manhood, generous, un- 
selfish, modest, truthful, cheerful, always retaining 
the credulity and simplicity of a child. An utter 
inability to pronounce the monosyllable no was 
the only loose screw in his organization. To utter 
it in good standfast fashion, and thereby cause 
disappointment and perplexity to another, was as 
impossible as to add another cubit to his stature. 
It lay at the foundation of his few mistakes in life, 
and was the only source of regret that threw a 
shade over his beaming spirit from his cradle to 
the grave. 

" In 1823 the discipline of the Dominie began to 
tell unfavorably upon all of us, particularly upon 
George, whose temperament being sanguine and ex- 
citable, rendered him more sensitive and restless 
under the forcing system than William. George was 
a manly type of a boy, with blonde complexion, 
broad forehead, and eyes of rare significance ; tall 



22 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

for Iris age, with an unmistakable look of deter- 
mination written all over him. Of more robust 
intellect than William, high spirited, not easily man- 
aged, thoroughly sweet-tempered, clear-headed, his 
character from first to last bore the same impress — 
a transparent simplicity, overlying a foundation 
of strength and decision. He had an instinctive 
abhorrence of chastisement, and rather than run the 
risk of being struck, would strain forward like a 
thorough-bred, at the risk of life and limb. Those 
who were most sensitive to the blows of the Domi- 
nie, and could be forced forward fastest, stood al- 
ways most in danger from them. George had often 
won the first fruits of ambition and perseverance, and 
was one of the leading advertisements of the school. 
The ruler must not relax. Exasperated and worn 
down at last, his sleep became disturbed by a kind 
of nightmare, which threatened his health so seri- 
ously, as to open my mother's eyes, as well as 
those of the whole village, to the severities of the 
school, and ended in his being sent to an academy at 
Haverhill, !N". H., where he remained for years, until 
transferred to Meriden, previous to his entering 
college. His emancipation had the effect to unsettle 
the rest of us, and gave rise to a very general idea 
that the long-talked-of royal road to learning was to 
be sought out for our especial solace. William 
shared in the hallucination, and permitted his mind 
to run riot with an idea suggested by the life of 
Dr. Franklin, which he was then reading for the 
fiftieth time, that if he could persuade my mother to 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 23 

give up the prestige of Alma Maters for him, he 
could start off upon the great venture of life in a 
printing office without the necessity of going to 
school another day. She, however, refused to give 
the proposition a single thought, sympathizing very 
clearly with the venerable Yicar when Moses pro- 
posed to set out in gosling-green waistcoat to face the 
snares of a crafty world. 

" Soon after this she had the opportunity, during 
one of Mr. Thompson's visits at Hanover, to con- 
sult him, together with Mr. Olcott, about William's 
change of school, and, in connection with the sub- 
ject, she mentioned his recent proposition. To her 
astonishment they both advised her to let the boy 
have his way; at all events to let him make the 
trial. Time went on. Conversations were held 
upon the subject. The uncles argued, and William 
urged and promised, until she finally surrendered her 
prejudices, and yielded a reluctant assent. Every 
effort was made to find the most unexceptionable 
office in ISTew England for his novitiate, and it was 
finally determined that Messrs. Flagg and Gould's 
printing establishment at Andover, Mass., offered the 
fewest objections, and held out more advantages than 
any other, especially when viewed through the pious 
medium of her mind. It was at that time the foun- 
tain-head of Bibles, tracts, and religious works. The 
conductors were men of well-known exemplary lives, 
residing in a theology-imbibing atmosphere, and 
where, from the general idea I derived as a child of 
the religious character of the place, I supposed that 



24 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

the Commandments and Catechism could be seen 
with the naked eye upon the ' pages of the air.' 

" He soon after left in the mail stage for Andover ; 
his letters came in due time, informing us of his 
safe arrival, good health, and agreeable surroundings. 
The first Thanksgiving festival which came round, he 
passed in Boston at Mr. Blake's. This was his first 
and happy experience of city life, under circumstances 
which he recalled with fresh delight as long as he 
lived. Twenty-two years afterwards he alludes to that 
joyous time, and almost with a sigh as he closes an 
article styled ' An Hour at Old Drury.' ' We plead 
guilty to a weakness for the sports of the circus which 
has grown with our growth, and we can laugh at the 
jokes of Mr. Merry man with as hearty a gusto as 
when our coats were minus the tails ; like the re- 
perusal of Arabian Nights and Robinson Crusoe, with- 
out an effort they carry us back to the days when, if 
we knew less, perhaps we were more happy.' He 
repeated his visit to Boston the following summer, 
and had the pleasure of accompanying Mr. Blake, 
who was an expert angler, to the cape, where he 
fished in the celebrated Marshpee Brook, < the best 
trout stream,' he wrote in 1840, ' in which it was 
ever our good fortune to wet a line.' 

" His first return to Hanover was in April, 1825, in 
consequence of my mother's illness. She died on the 
morning of the 4th of the following month, of rapid 
consumption, in the presence of all her children, ex- 
cepting my brother, the Doctor, who was in Georgia. 
The day previous to her death, with a clear and cheer- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 25 

ful mind, as if about to take leave of us for a tempo- 
rary absence, she distributed tokens of her love, and 
gave such parting words of direction and encourage- 
ment as our age and circumstances required, setting 
forth to her sons the necessity of every manly virtue 
to carry them safely and honorably through life. She 
tenderly reminded us that she was only going away 
from us for a little time — a little before — going home, 
where there would be no more death, nor sorrow, nor 
crying ; and then drawing us all closely about her, in 
words that cannot be remembered, except as they left 
an impression upon our hearts i deeper than all love,' 
she breathed her last prayer for us on earth. 

" Religion in her household had been conscientious- 
ly taught, but it was her firm, consistent, courageous, 
silent example, which made an undying impression 
upon her children. 

" However full and diversified the after life of her 
sons, through all their trials and temptations, pleas- 
ures and triumphs of one kind and another, amidst 
the congenialities of genial and oftentimes hazardous 
companionship ' bullying in upon them in masses,' 
they never outgrew the influences stamped upon their 
souls when under her care. 

" "We saw her carried upon a bier, and laid by the 
side of our father, and in a few weeks afterwards we 
were all cut adrift from the home anchorage for- 
ever. 

"Benjamin returned to Boston, William to An- 
dover, while George and Frank pursued their prepara- 
tory studies for college at Haverhill and Meriden." 
2 



26 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

Dr. Porter, the eldest brother of William T. Por- 
ter, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1822. His 
friend and classmate Mr. Chief Justice Perley, of 
Concord, 1ST. H., thus writes of him in a letter to Mrs. 
Brinley, Sept. 28, 1859 : 

" I was very intimately acquainted with your brother, Dr. 
Porter. When I entered college as a freshman in Sept. 1818, I 
found him then a member of the class. He was then, I think, 
sixteen years old, and had already reached nearly, if not quite, 
his full stature of six feet. He was then of a slender figure, very 
erect, and very brisk and alert in all his movements, full of viva- 
city and spirit ; a general favorite in college on account of his 
amiable disposition, his winning manners, and agreeable conver- 
sation. He was not a severe student of the regular college 
studies ; but a keen observer of all that was passing around him, 
very well informed on general subjects, and wholly free from all 
inclination to vice or low dissipation. He left college with the 
reputation of a young man likely to achieve a brilliant success in 
any department of practical life that he might select. I Soon after 
he left college he went to Virginia, and afterwards to Georgia, 
and was absent from New England about five years^ In Nov., 
1827, 1 went to Hanover to try my chances in the law, and fouDd 
your brother there, just returned from Georgia, and attending the 
medical lectures in the college. I saw much of him while he 
remained there, which I think was about two years, and found 
him little changed in character or manners from the man from 
whom I had parted five years before. He had, however, made 
great advances in general knowledge, and adopted more settled 
views in life. 

" Your father had died before I knew any of the family. Your 
mother did not remove from Newbury until some time after the 
Doctor entered college, and I did not become acquainted with 
her until near the end of my college course. I was, however, 
well acquainted with her afterwards, and am under obligations to 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 27 

her kindness, which I trust I shall never forget. She had many 
points of resemblance to her brother, your uncle Olcott,* his wit, 

* At the time of Mr. Olcott's death, an obituary appeared in the 
" New York Observer," written by the late Rev. George Bush, of that 
city, formerly a private tutor in the family of Mr. Olcott, so masterly 
in delineation, that the Hon. Rufus Choate (a son-in-law of Mr. Olcott) 
considered it a more faithful portrait than the skilful pencil of any 
limner could produce. The influence of such a man standing in the 
relationship which he did to the five brothers Porter, from their boy- 
hood to the hour of his death, was beyond calculation. He was their 
beau ideal of all that constituted a gentleman in the highest sense of 
that term. They loved and honored him through life with the devo- 
tion of children, regarding a word of commendation from his lips with 
more delight than from any other human source, while a hint intended 
to convey a shade of merited rebuke filled them with unspeakable re- 
gret. It is impossible to observe the outlines of Mr. Olcott's rare 
nature without recognizing much of the breadth and vigor which were 
conspicuous in his nephews, and which at this date are eminently em- 
braced in the character of his immediate descendants. 

HON. MILLS OLCOTT. 

Died, at Hanover, N. H., on the 11th inst., Hon. Mills Olcott, aged 71. In the 
death of this estimable man society, learning, religion, share with a bereaved do- 
mestic circle in the consciousness of a loss well-nigh irreparable. Few men have 
been more widely known, few more profoundly loved and respected in life, or 
more sincerely lamented in death. The pen which would fain pay a becoming 
tribute to his various worth, finds itself at a loss to present a portrait, which, while 
it shall appear true to his friends, shall not seem overwrought and extravagant to 
those who had not the pleasure of his personal acquaintance. Viewed as to native 
endowments his character was a rare assemblage of high qualities. Every thing 
about him was cast in moulds which gave forth only elevated and imposing forms. 
He was emphatically a man of large soul. A certain inbred generosity of nature 
— a lofty magnanimity— an expansive liberality of sentiment — a signal superiority 
to any thing low or little— shone conspicuous in his habitual bearing, and was 
abundantly realized in its appropriate actings in the various conduct of life. His 
intellect was remarkable for clearness and acuteness, and though receiving an 
early direction to the sphere of the practical rather than of the speculative, yet 
it was evident that, had circumstances varied the bent of his genius, he would not 
have failed of eminence in any department of letters or science to which he might 
have devoted himself. As it was, though distinguished by a refined and elegant 



28 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 

his slirewd observation of character, with more vivacity, and a 
more easy and flowing style of conversation. Her health, after I 

taste, yet his converse was rather with inert than with dooks, and his keen insight 
into character — his exact judgment— his far-seeing sagacity— his proverbial pru- 
dence — while they secured distinguished success to his own secular plans, gave a 
peculiar value to his counsel— which was always readily accorded— in regard to 
the conduct and affairs of life. In what is technically termed the knowledge of 
human nature it would have been difficult to find his superior. Yet with all the 
conscious impression and tacit acknowledgment of pre-eminent powers inspired 
upon those who knew him, no one was ever oppressed by it. Ho wore his virtues 
so meekly — he was so " courteously carriaged " — he had such a delicate respect to 
the feelings of others, even in the minutest points— and was so instinctively stu- 
dious of preserving their proper self esteem unwounded by the least word or look 
which could give pain, that tho ideal of the perfect gentleman could scarcely find 
itself more adequately embodied than in him. 

His love of the domestic circle made him averse to public life, while it availed 
not to quench his public spirit. Every useful enterprise, institution, and object 
drew largely upon his sympathies and freely upon his support ; and yet his private 
charities, no less numerous or ample for his public benefactions, left their record 
in the grateful memory of relieved affliction and in the tears that were shed on ac- 
count of the tears that were spared. 

The Literary Institution with whose fortunes he was more than half a century 
connected, whose interests he was ever active in the various capacities of Trustee, 
Secretary, and Treasurer, in promoting, and whose successive generations of 
alumni have borne his revered image engraved on their hearts, will feel itself 
shorn of a pillar of strength in his removal, and the festivities of its coming anni- 
versary will be gloomily damped by the view of his vacant place on the accustomed 
stage. 

In social life he was the model of every thing at once commanding and attrac- 
tive. His extensive acquaintance with men— his intuition of character— his un- 
failing store of anecdote — his delicate irony — his power of graphic portraiture — his 
brilliant but iunocuous wit, made his society a rich treat to all ages ; and the ex- 
quisite manner in which he managed to introduce some hint of practical wisdom 
that might especially serve for the guidance of the young and inexperienced, was 
always felt but never can be duly described. With the keenest perception of the 
eccentric, the grotesque, or the ludicrous in character, no man ever discovered 
more leniency to human infirmity, or was more tenderly alive to the sensibilities 
which guarded the weaknesses he would fain correct. 

The qualities which we have thus fully depicted as characterizing the deceased 
must needs command admiration, as they universally did in the subject of them, 
independent of the operation of any higher element in the midst of these striking 
gifts of nature. But we have still to advert to the crowning excellence of the man 
in the spirit of unfeigned piety which adorned the greater portion of his earthly 
career. His native endowments constituted a beautiful ground for the display cf 
the inwrought graces of the Spirit of God. Having attained to mature life before 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 29 

knew her, was seldom perfect, but she was uniformly cheerful. 
She was a very religious person, but her piety had nothing in it 
morose or severe. Her manners had been formed in the best 
society of her time, and had the ease and simplicity which I take 
to be the highest proof of perfect good-breeding." 

" I have but one positive memory connected with 
my eldest brother," writes Mrs. Brinley, " in these 
early Hanover years, and as it gives significance to 
his after life, I rejoice to be able to recall it. 

" A few weeks after "he left college, he was in read- 
iness to carry ont a plan quite common among gradu- 
ates at that time, of starting for the South, to engage 
as a public or private teacher, in order to gain the 
means of obtaining a professional education easier, 
earlier, and more ample than could be done at the 
[North. 



formally connecting himself with a church, he lived ever after as if intent upon 
bringing up the religions arrears of his earlier years. Exemplary and faithful in 
the discharge of every duty, he yet evinced the air of one who, oppressed with the 
consciousness of perpetual defects, rejoiced mainly in the hope built upon the 
gratuitous mercy of the gospel through the finished righteousness of the Lord tho 
Saviour. His child-like trust in the merits of Christ was conspicuously coupled 
with a delightful softening influence upon the stronger traits of his natural char- 
acter, causing all the more salient qualities of the man to be kept in wholesome 
check by the restraining graces of the Christian. Humility, simplicity, meekness, 
continually mantled over his deportment; and if it were possible to detect a fault 
in his religious character, it would perhaps be in that extreme self-depreciation 
which seemed to forbid the thought that he could venture to assume that position 
of prominence in good works which every one else was so ready to accord to him. 
For this reason he was perhaps unduly prone to keep himself in the back ground, 
when the grace of God would have been more highly magnified by a believing 
disregard of his own conscious infirmities. But with all abatements on this or any 
other score, he has left to a mourning family and church the legacy of a remem- 
bered example of Christian virtues but seldom evinced, and the peaceful and hal- 
lowed calm of his death-bed, in the midst of excruciating sufferings, put the seal 
of heaven's encomium upon his life, and gave to himself and his friends the assured 
anticipation of the future "Well done, good and faithful servant." 



30 LIFE OF WILLTAM T. PORTER. 

"The morning of his departure from home, long 
before the dawn, while sleeping by the side of my 
mother, I was awaked by his entering the room to 
take leave of her. He was sobbing aloud, and fell on 
his knees before her, and for some time both were too 
much overcome to speak a word. My mother recov- 
ered first, and in broken voice gave him much solemn 
and earnest advice, which seemed to me very much 
in the form of prayer. As he was abont to leave her, 
she said to him with prophetic earnestness in her 
voice and manner, * My son, if I should die before 
you come back, promise me to take care of my little 
ones.' He made the desired promise with firm voice 
and with all the manly warmth and sincerity of his 
nature. Another farewell embrace, the door opened, 
and they were separated, never to meet again until 
the integrity of that pledge had been tested by a life- 
time of labor and love in behalf of those committed 
to his charge. From the day that he heard the tidings 
of her death, his oversight of us four youngest chil- 
dren, William, George, Frank, and myself, commenc- 
ed, and though separated from us for nearly two years 
after that event, his letters were constant and regular, 
addressed not only to ourselves, but to those who had 
the control of our training and education. Nothing 
was too trivial or insignificant to escape his loving 
interest and scrutiny ; and though there were many 
times during those two long years of absence, when 
we felt ourselves alone in the world, scattered and 
separated from each other, yet his fatherly and re- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 31 

sponsible care kept us all comparatively hopeful and 
happy until his return. 

" We religiously preserved his letters. Their valu e 
to my younger brothers was of incalculable advantage, 
and were read and re-read so often that at this date 
their fragile leaves hardly hold together, and are never 
touched without an apprehension that they will exhale 
in our hands." 

In one of his letters to William, while the latter 
was still at Andover, he writes, " It has gratified me 
very much to know that you are so well situated in 
Andover, and that you are contented and happy. 1 
think your profession, if well understood, is one of the 
very best in the whole circle of those employments 
which are usually filled by industrious and enterpris- 
ing men, and one which will insure every honest man 
a competent livelihood; and to one who improves 
every opportunity to become acquainted with books, 
it can scarcely fail of procuring both honor and 
profit. You seem to have employed your leisure 
hours to some purpose. It did my heart good to 
mark the freedom and justness of your remarks on 
the works you have read. You have only to continue 
your diligence a year or two longer, and you will 
have every thing to hope. I am not at all opposed 
to the course of reading you have pursued ; for you 
have now arrived at that age when the acquirement 
of a good style is equally important with the acquisi- 
tion of facts." 



CHAPTER II. 

In the year 1829, "William commenced his editorial 
life at St. Johnsbury, Yt., in connection with " The 
Farmer's Herald," and in about a year removed to 
Norwich, as an associate in the publication of " The 
Enquirer," where he remained but a short time, and 
then with a light heart and a lighter purse, he gave a 
lingering look at the hills of his native State, and 
started for New York, as the most promising field 
for the support of such a journal as he hoped to estab- 
lish. 

The Hon. Horace Greeley wrote us a few months 
ago from New York : 

" I came to this city about the 16th of August, 1831, and very 
soon found work as a compositor at Mr. John T. West's printing 
office, No. 85 Chatham Street. I here found Mr. William T. 
Porter at work as a compositor, and I think he officiated as fore- 
man. My recollections of him at that period are, that he was a tall, 
comely youth, of about twenty-five, very urbane and kind toward 
those younger and less favored than himself, and a capital work- 
man. He left West, I think, before I did, the work here being 
very poorly paid, while he was able to command more lucrative 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 33 

employment. At the last end of this year, he and James How, 
another young printer, devised 'The Spirit of the Times,' a 
weekly sporting paper, which they brought out on the 1st of 
January, 1832. I worked for them from the outset, and remem- 
ber getting the first number to press a little after midnight of 
Dec. 31, 1831, Jan. 1, 1832. I continued to work on this paper, 
first at No. 64 Fulton Street, afterwards at No. 45 Wall Street, 
till September, 1832, when I left on a visit to my relatives in 
New Hampshire, and my place was supplied, so that I did not 
work on the ' Spirit ' thereafter." * 

As tlie first number of the " Spirit " was issued on 
Saturday, December 10th, 1831, according to Mr. 
Porter, it must have been the fourth number on 
which Mr. Greeley was engaged as indicated in his 
letter ; the precise date the author has not been able 
to verify, as the early numbers cannot be found. The 
circulation was about six thousand copies ; a large 
number for the new paper, under all circumstances. 
In a few months it was united with " The Traveller," 
with Mr. Porter in charge of the sporting department. 
This arrangement did not last long, and Mr. Porter 
took charge of " The New Yorker " for a short time 
— and then of "The Constellation." But as those 

* As illustrative of Mr. Porter's appreciation of a genuine strong 
character, he thus alludes to Mr. Greeley as long ago as -when the 
latter was editor of the " New Yorker " : 

" Mr. Greeley is the friend of our early days, and a right manly, honest 
editor is he. So eminent are his abilities and so remarkable his industry, that 
we boldly predict for him a brilliant future ; and his career as an editor — thus 
far since his recent outset, propitious — is destined to be yet more commanding; 
he will be yet heard in the councils of his country. Into whatever situation he 
may be thrown, however he may be elevated or depressed in life, he will carry 
with him right staunch and sturdy honesty, the noblest gift of God." 
9* 



34 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

journals gave a subordinate place to sporting matters, 
it was natural that his thoughts should revert with 
affectionate regard to " The Spirit of the Times," 
which he originated, and which was baptized by his 
brother Benjamin, who suggested its name; and he 
soon after purchased the copyright of " The Traveller, 
and Spirit of the Times " from C. J. B. Fisher, by 
whom they had been united, and on Saturday, Janu- 
ary 3, 1835, Mr. Porter issued the paper with the 
name it now bears. 

He was now in the position which he coveted, 
and the opening words of a genial address to the 
" Fraternity," which is full of kindness, attest his 
satisfaction. u We joy to meet you thus alone. It 
has been our good or bad fortune more than once to 
be connected with prints over which our control was 
shackled by the will of others, and where it was inex- 
pedient to give free vent to our feelings to oar edi- 
torial compeers. To be sure we had our own way, 
but then, as Col. Hardy says in the play, we hadn't 
our own way of having it. Thank Heaven, such is 
not now the case, and we seize the opportunity of 
making our grateful devoirs to each and all in that 
spirit of courtesy and good fellowship which har- 
monizes with our sincerest sentiments." 

When he had thus consummated his cherished 
purpose of establishing and solely conducting a sport- 
ing newspaper in the Commercial Metropolis of the 
country, he was perfectly aware that there existed, in 
some sections, a marked antipathy to the very name 
of race-course, and a morbid apprehension of the 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 35 

ruinous and indefinite mischiefs which were errone- 
ously believed to be its inseparable attendants. 

In the Middle States, a tolerant and kindly feeling 
for the turf was quite prevalent ; while at the South 
and South-west, out-of-door life with its various sources 
of amusement and excitement, and its promptings to 
a zealous, yet rational regard for the horse, the gun, 
and the angling-rod, was an ardent passion with agri- 
cultural gentlemen of wealth and spirit. 

The conflicting opinions of different sections of the 
country, were obstacles to the smooth, rapid, and 
profitable progress of the novel enterprise. To face 
and to correct deep-rooted prejudices, demanded the 
aid of a " man of hope and forward-looking mind," 
and in whom should be united a rare variety of 
qualities ; enthusiasm in the subject-matter, talent, 
practical knowledge of printing, and a clear sense 
of editorial duty, good temper, sound judgment, 
perseverance, honor, and pluck. Fortunately, all 
these elements of success were mingled with different 
degrees of intensity, in the trustful and generous na- 
ture of the gifted projector of the new journal. 

It was a novel undertaking, no other American 
newspaper having the same specialty, or claiming to 
be regarded as reliable authority as to the value and 
ownership of animals asserted to be thorough-bred. 
These points were becoming more and more important 
as the investment in stock was regularly and rapidly 
augmenting in most parts of the United States. 

Horses were introduced into England at a very 
early date ; the crown and the people both encourag- 



36 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

ing the growth of breeds of different, but superior 
qualities. 

In the reign of Queen Anne, (Herbert informs us,) 
the English thorough-bred horse may be regarded as 
fully established ; the Darley Arabian, son of Flying 
Childers, Curwen's Barb, and Lord Carlisle's Turk, son 
of the Bald Galloway, being imported in her reign. 
Sixteen years after her death, and three years before the 
foundation of Georgia, the youngest of the royal colo- 
nies, twenty-one foreign, and fifty native stallions, some 
of them the most celebrated horses the world has ever 
seen, such as Childers, Bartlett's Childers, the Grey 
Childers, the Bald Galloway, Bay Bolton, Coneyskins, 
Crab, Fox, Hartley's Blind Horse, Jigg, Soreheels, 
and Trueblue, were covering in the United Kingdoms ; 
and from some of those are descended almost all our 
racers of the present day. Six years before this, the 
first racing calendar was published in England, with 
nearly seven hundred subscribers. During this 
period it was, precisely, that the American colonies 
were planted ; and, as might be anticipated, English 
horses of pure blood were at a very early date intro- 
duced. And in those regions where the settlement was 
principally effected by men of birth, attached to the 
cavalier party, race-horses were kept and trained ; 
race-courses were established, and a well-authenticated 
stock of thorough-bred animals, tracing to the most 
celebrated English sires, many of which were im- 
ported in the early part of the eighteenth century, 
was in existence considerably before the outbreak of 
the old French war. In the Eastern States, the set- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 37 

tiers of which were, for the most part, attached to the 
Puritan party, and therefore opposed to all amuse- 
ments and pastimes, as frivolous, at the least, and 
unprofitable, and to horse-racing more especially as 
profane and positively wicked, very few horses of 
thorough blood were imported. 

Yirginia and Maryland as the head-quarters of 
the cavaliers — the former State having for a long time 
refused submission to the Commonwealth and to 
stout old Oliver — as the seat of the aristocracy, fashion, 
and wealth of the Colonies, prior to the Revolution — ■ 
took an early and decided lead in this noble pursuit ; 
and while the love of the sport continues to distinguish 
their descendants, who are by far the most equestrian 
in their habits of any other citizens of the Republic, 
the result of the liberality of the first settlers is yet 
visible in the blood of their noble steeds. 

The emigrants from those States to Tennessee took 
some of their best stock with them, and thus it became 
more or less diffused, as population was attracted to 
fresh territory, and as the boundaries of the Union 
were enlarged. 

It is believed that the amusements of the Turf 
were introduced into America by Gov. Samuel Ogle, 
during his term of office as Governor of the Province 
of Maryland, from 1732 to 1745, David Ridgely, in 
his "Annals. of Annapolis," states that 

" The first public horse-racing at, or near Annapolis, is adver- 
tised in the Maryland Gazette, to take place on the 30th and 31st 
days of May, 1745. The pnrses to be run for by any horse, mare, 
or gelding, (' Old Ranter ' and ' Limber Sides ' excepted,) to 



38 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 

carry 115 pounds, three heats, the course two miles." * * * 
" How this race came off, we are not informed. From the ex- 
clusion of ' Old Ranter ' and ' Limber Sides,' we may infer they 
were somewhat celebrated in their day." * * * 

" 1747. On the 29th of September, in this year, a race was 
run on this Course (at Annapolis) between Gov. Ogle's bay 
gelding and Col. Plater's grey stallion, and won by the former." 

" A Jockey club was instituted here about this period, con- 
sisting of many principal gentlemen in this and the adjacent prov- 
inces, many of whom, in order to encourage the breed of this 
noble animal, imported from England, at a very great expense, 
horses of high reputation. This club existed for many years. 
The races at Annapolis were generally attended by a great con- 
course of spectators, many coming from the adjoining Colonies. 
Considerable sums were bet on these occasions. Subscription 
purses of one hundred guineas were, for a length of time, the 
highest amounts run for, but subsequently were greatly increased. 
The day of the races usually closed with balls or theatrical 
amusements." 

" On the same ground, some years after, (1767-8,) Dr. Ham- 
ilton's horse Figaro, won a purse of fifty pistoles. * * * Figaro 
was a horse of great reputation ; it is stated of him that he had 
won many fifties, and in the year 1763 to have received premi- 
ums at Preston and Carlisle, in Old England, where no horse 
could enter against him ; he never lost a race." 

Between the years of 1752 and 1766, Jolly Kogers, 
James, Fearnought, and Partner, were imported into 
Virginia. 

Dr. John B. Irving in his interesting history of 
the South Carolina Turf, written in 1843, says : 

"It is upwards of a century since racing commenced in Carolina 
as a popular pastime. The earliest record that exists of any pub- 
lic running, appears in the South Carolina Gazette, February 1, 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 39 

1734. The prize was a saddle and bridle valued at £20. The 
race was on the first Tuesday in February, 1734 — mile heats — 
four entries. The horses carried ten stone — white riders. This 
was one of the stipulations of the race. There was also another 
condition, that the horses should be entered on the Saturday 
preceding the race. This race took place on a Green on Charles- 
ton Neck, immediately opposite a public house known in those 
days as the Bowling Green House." 

Dr. Irving describes the season of 1788 as " a 
golden age of racing in South Carolina," and says 
in reference to it, 

" Whether we consider the elevated character of the gentle- 
men of the Turf, the attractions that the races possessed at that 
time, and for many subsequent years ' for all sorts and conditions 
of men ; ' youth anticipating its delights for weeks beforehand — 
the sternness of age relaxing by their approach — lovers becoming 
more ardent, and young damsels setting their caps with greater 
dexterity — the quality of the company in attendance— the splendid 
equipages — the liveried outriders that were to be seen daily on 
the course — the gentlemen attending the races in fashionable Lon- 
don made clothes, buckskin breeches and top-boots — the universal 
interest pervading all classes, from the Judge upon the Bench, to 
the little school-boy with his satchel on his back — the kind 
greetings of the Town and Country — the happy meeting of old 
friends whose residences were at a distance, affording occasions 
of happy intercourse and festivity — the marked absence of all 
care, except care of the horses — the total disregard of the value 
of time, except by the competition in the races, who did their 
best to save and economize it — every thing combined to render 
race-week in Charleston, emphatically the Carnival of the State, 
when it was unpopular, if not impossible to be out of spirits, and 
not to mingle with the gay throng. 

" The best idea we can give of the moral influence of race- 
week, (as exerted formerly,) is to state that the Courts of Justice 



40 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

used daily to adjourn, and all the schools were regularly let out, as 
the hour for starting the horses drew near ; with one consent the 
stores in Broad and King streets were closed — all business being 
suspended on the joyous occasion, the feelings of the good people 
partaking of the rapidity of the races themselves — in fact, it was 
no uncommon sight to see the most venerable and distinguished 
dignitaries of the land, Clergymen and Judges, side by side on 
the course taking a deep interest in the animated and animating 
scene around them ! 

" "With such a stimulus to prosperity and the preservation of 
good morals, no wonder that order and sobriety and good fellow- 
ship prevailed as abundantly as they did in those days. We 
must not omit to notice that in the early days of Racing in South 
Carolina, the gentlemen of the Turf, like the ancient nobles, Hiero 
and others, never ran their horses for the pecuniary value of the 
prize to be won, but solely for the honor, that a horse of their 
own breeding and training should distinguish himself. Mr. 
Daniel Eavenel, and many others, of the high-minded turfmen of 
those days, expressed great disapprobation at any departure from 
the good old custom of their fathers, and did all in their power 
to prevent a change when it was proposed. The prize used 
to be, not a purse of gold or silver, but a piece of plate. Several 
of these tokens of success are in the possession of the descendants 
of those who formerly owned race horses in the State. 

" Such were the races in South Carolina ! Let us hope then 
that we of the present generation will never feel less attach- 
ment than our fathers did to the Sports of the Turf ; and that 
whatever other changes may occur in our State, no change will 
ever take place in the celebrity of our horses ; that the animating 
spirit of the Chase will in all time to come, continue to call our 
youth to the woods, and the rational amusement of the course, 
our Sportsmen to the Turf! " 

It is not proposed to ascertain the number and 
names of the numerous race-courses which have since 
been established all over the country, or to give even 



LITE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 41 

an approximate estimate of the value of the thorough- 
bred stock, imported or native, as this volume is not 
intended for an Index to a Racing Calendar, or a 
mere repertory of names. But some reference to the 
value of choice animals, and to the pecuniary interests 
allied to the Turf, is indispensable to an appreciation 
of the motive, independent of personal taste, which 
stimulated Mr. Porter to embark his limited resources, 
but large intelligence, in this untried field of periodical 
literature. A few prices are, therefore, jotted down 
from memory, and without regard to date, not as the 
most remarkable, but because they happen to occur, 
and will give a general idea of the great cost of the 
best order of animals. Thus, $10,000 were paid for 
Henry ; Zenith and Magnate could not be purchased 
for $5,000 at 3 years old. Medoc, one of the very best 
of our native stallions, was said to be worth not less 
than $35,000 at the day of his death. Black Maria 
was sold at public auction, at Nashville, Tenn., for 
$4,000 when thirteen years old. Mary Blunt sold for 
$6,000. Altorf for $10,000 at nine years of age. 
Bodoljph for $22,000. For Fashion, $12,000 was 
asked, and so on. 

Taking into account all the associated interests of 
the Race-course, its numberless auxiliaries and sur- 
roundings, one cannot fail to perceive the importance 
and even necessity of a Journal which should repre- 
sent the condition and demands of an interest of such 
pecuniary magnitude and so widely extended, and 
which received the encouragement and support of men 
of the stamp of Col. John Tayloe, John Randolph, 



42 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

Hoomes, Selden, and Col. William E. Johnson of 
Yirginia ; Govs. Ogle, Eidgely, Wright, Lloyd, and 
Sprigg of Maryland ; Messrs. Hampton, Washington, 
McPherson, Alston, and Singleton of South Carolina ; 
Gov. Williams and Gen. Carney of North Carolina ; 
Gen. Jackson and Gen. Harding of Tennessee ; Eich- 
ard Smith, Major William Jongs, and the Messrs. Hall 
of New York ; the Messrs. Stevens of New Jersey, 
and hosts of other honorable men in all parts of the 
country beyond our ability to specify in a work of 
this description. They gave an impulse to the meet- 
ings of Turfmen, and laid the foundation of that 
zeal and success, in the improvement of the breed of 
horses, which have been so triumphantly displayed. 

To advocate the claims of such a cause and the 
interests of such men, Mr. Porter at once devoted his 
time and strength. 

The increased interest which began to be mani- 
fested in regard to the Turf and a variety of out-of- 
door athletic sports was most grateful to him, and we 
can easily imagine the satisfaction with which he 
announced the spirited action of the New York 
Jockey Club, in the very paper which contained his 
salutatory address. 

Some of its members agreed to run a sweepstakes 
over the Union Course in the spring of 1838 with 
fillies and colts then three years old. The entrance to 
be $1,000, and the forfeit $250. Distance, mile 
heats. Among the subscribers were Messrs. W. 
Livingston, E. Tollotson, J. C. Stevens, W. E. John- 
son, Jno. C. Craig, S. Eingold, S. . Gouverneur, 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 43 

fm. "Wynn, A. L. Botts, R. F. Stockton, fm. H. 
Minge, J. H. Wilkes, R. L. Stevens, John Heth, 
R. Randolph, ¥m. Coleman, John M. Botts, A. B. 
Meade, Samuel Laird, J. H. Oliver and D. "W". Jones, 
all gentlemen of the highest respectability and pnblic 
spirit. 

The transactions in blooded stock during the year 
1836, amounted to over half a million of dollars, and 
the high prices obtained for that of superior quality, 
indicated the fresh impetus which had been given 
to the turf in this country by men of wealth and in- 
fluence. 

In the autumn of this year Mr. Porter made a 
visit to the pine-clad hills, rich prairies, and verdant 
valleys of the south and west, from which he re- 
turned with enlarged and enlightened views of 
the character and condition of the agricultural dis- 
tricts, and a confirmed appreciation of the care and 
attention given to the raising of fine stock, whether 
of horses, cattle, hogs, or sheep. The number, value, 
and improvement of blood horses for the ordinary 
purposes of life, or destined for the chase or the turf; 
the management of race-courses in the vicinity of the 
prominent cities, and their large and liberal clubs, as 
well as the whole system of racing, with all its ramifi- 
cations, enlisted his acute powers of observation. 
Of the many courses, jockey clubs, and associa- 
tions of the South, he was especially delighted with 
the "Hampton Course," at Augusta, Ga., and the 
" Hampton Court Stud ;" the latter, he says, " rivalling 
that of his late majesty, and containing more stock 



4:4: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

bred at the Koyal Stud, than any other in the Union," 
and the former receiving its name " in honor of a 
gentleman whose ennobling talents and public spirit, 
more than his princely fortune, have placed him at 
the head of the Turf in Carolina and Georgia." Of 
Emily , owned by Col. Hampton, and out of Elizabeth, 
by Eainbow, bred by his late Majesty William IY., 
at the Royal Stud at Hampton Court, and imported 
into South Carolina by his present owner, he writes 
with characteristic enthusiasm : " She is a beautiful 
bay with a star and a stripe, about fifteen hands and 
one inch, and presents a most striking resemblance to 
Ackerman's superb colored engraving of the Queen 
of Trumps. Her head is faultless, a perfect non- 
pareil, and her eye and face beam with intelligence. 
Her limbs are as finely modelled as those of the fair 
representative of 'Ion J and her beautiful pastern 
joints remind one of the delicate and well-turned 
ankle of la petite Augusta ! Her proportions are 
almost perfect; her shoulder is broad and oblique, 
running well back, and she is also very fine across 
the loins. Her hocks, knees, and feet are also good, 
especially the first, which come well down to the 
ground. Altogether she is as game a looking filly as 
can be seen in a year's travel." 

Of Missouri^ he writes : " She is a chestnut, under 
fifteen hands high, and very well put up ; a small 
star is her only white natural mark. Her dam was a 
tip-top Director mare. She was bred by Gen. Broad- 
nax of Yirginia, and has been thrice a winner since 
she made her debut last spring. "While we were ex- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 45 

amining lier in her stable, at Augusta, her owner re- 
marked, ' Give her a name, Mr. Porter. 3 ' Well,' 
said we, ' call her after a fine State and a charming 
woman who bears the same name, and call her Mis- 
souri? ' I don't know much about the State? replied 
McCargo, ' but if you know a pretty woman of that 
name, why Missouri it shall be.' " 

On his return from the South he wrote : 

" After a surrender of the editorial seat for some weeks, we 
mount the box, and gather up the ribbons of our darling turn-out. 
Were we not quite up to the mark in condition, we should fear 
being distanced upon again entering upon our duties. For a 
period of nearly seven years, we have held the reins and guided 
the fleet coursers that have drawn this sheet from the realms of 
darkness into regions of light, from an inauspicious and gloomy 
beginning to the enjoyment of a wide-spread patronage. Seven 
years since, a mere boy, unknown and unaided, we started the 
project of a Sporting paper. Trammelled by circumstances, 
retarded by inexperience, we groped our way slowly into those 
Southern and "Western regions of our country, where the sports 
we advocate were more generally appreciated and more liberally 
encouraged. To gratify our most earnest desire to visit these 
portions of the Union, and to make ourselves perfectly acquainted 
with the gentlemen, the country, and the various interests in- 
volved in the Sports of the Turf, we took our leave in Novem- 
ber, and most advantageously employed three months in the 
pleasing survey. What shall we say of the receptions which 
everywhere awaited us? What shall we write that is not 
already known of the unbounded hospitality that everywhere 
pervades that section of the Union, and which was absolutely 
bestowed upon us in a manner at once so elegant and so bounti- 
ful, that the mere acknowledgment of the grateful compliment 
fills our throat and eyes with the emotion its remembrance must 
ever excite? From Baltimore to Wheeling, thence to Cincinnati, 
thence to Louisville, and thence to Vicksburg, Natchez, St. 



46 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

Francis ville, and New Orleans, onr journey was chequered by 
the most flattering attentions. At New Orleans, we had the 
happiness to renew old intimacies and create new ones in a wide 
circle of gentlemen who are unsurpassed for their elegant and 
refined hospitality. Our visit among that gallant throng of 
friends to the Turf, occurred during their great annual Jockey 
Club meeting," (of which Judge Alexander Porter was President,) 
" and long shall we retain the impression of their courteous 
bearing amid the excitements of the race ; their bland and 
gracious freedom at the Club, and their mirthful reminiscences 
of the fortunes of the day. On our return, we traversed the 
entire range of the Southern States, pausing here and there amid 
hospitalities that often well-nigh allured us to outstay the boun- 
teous welcome we universally received." 

In reference to the "magnificent stud" of Col. 
Hampton, he writes : 

" The excess of his choice blood stock, native or imported, 
whether consisting of horses, cattle, or sheep, is seldom or never 
sold, but from motives the most patriotic distributed among those 
of his friends not engaged in breeding, who will rear them with 
attention. If, as some writer has forcibly remarked, he is. en- 
titled to the esteem of mankind who causes two blades of grass 
to grow where one blade grew before, what amount of commen- 
dation does he not merit who thus dispenses a princely fortune 
in perfecting the breed and ameliorating the condition of the 
most useful and invaluable of animals, and so materially contrib- 
utes to the interests and general enjoyment of the community." 

During the editor's absence at the South, his 
brother George, who was his junior by four years, 
undertook to supply his place ; as he had not before 
wandered far from his chosen path of the law, and 
had but a very limited knowledge of the specialty of 
his brother, it was to him a task of great labor and 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 47 

anxiety. In one of his letters now before me, dated 
February 17, 1838, he writes : "Kejoice with me for 
my labors are at last over. William is at home again 
and has now nominally and actually relieved me from 
care and trouble. The first number of the new volume 
is at last out, and henceforth William will sail his 
own ship." 

George Porter graduated at Dartmouth College in 
1831, with distinguished honor, and had, besides his 
admitted intellectual eminence, quite a reputation for 
oratorical ability ; one of several prizes which he re- 
ceived for superior declamation, while yet an under- 
graduate, is in my possession. . On the completion 
of his collegiate course, he commenced the study of 
the law with George Brinkerhoff, Esq., of New York, 
and remained with him until he was admitted to the 
bar, when he opened an office in that city, with ardent 
aspirations for distinction in his profession. In the 
autumn of 1836, he was so fortunate as to become a 
partner of the Hon. Edward Curtis and his brother, 
Geo. Curtis, Esq., who were engaged in a varied and 
extensive practice. Preserving his literary tastes and 
resorting to them as a relaxation from the engrossing 
cares of his office, he occasionally wrote for his 
brother's paper ; and as already stated, at one time 
undertook its entire management ; not only its liter- 
ary department, but its fiscal affairs fell under his 
temporary, but exclusive control. With the latter he 
became so complicated that, in the end, he felt obliged 
to withdraw from his legal engagements that he might 
devote himself exclusively to the task of sustaining 



48 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

the fortunes of the " Spirit," at a time of general 
bankruptcy and discouragement : a fancied, not a 
real necessity, as we believe ; and the more to be 
regretted on that account. Had he continued in his 
profession, with one-half the persevering industry 
which he exhibited while connected with the press, 
he must have risen to eminence, for he had the ele- 
ments of success in him to an uncommon degree. 
His mind was clear, comprehensive, and quick; his 
power of abstraction and application very great ; his 
manner of speech strong and emotional ; while the 
responsive play of his fine and expressive face, im- 
parted an indescribable ch^rm to what fell from his 
lips. 

The origin of the playful sobriquet, " York's tall 
son," which first became in 1837 a favorite and fa- 
miliar title applied to William, adding another to the 
many memorable cases in which a pointed verbal 
phrase sometimes becomes incorporated into the pop- 
ular vocabulary, was the result of a private incident 
of no interest whatever disconnected from the hero 
himself; But from its still living hold upon the 
hearts of those who loved him, as expressive of his 
lofty stature as well as of his popularity in the city 
of his adoption, its history is worth preserving, inas- 
much as one of his few characteristic letters is bound 
up with its origin. Some time during the year 1836, 
Miss Clifton offered, through the columns of " The 
Spirit," the sum of $1,000 for a Tragedy, " adapted to 
her histrionic acquirements." This met the eye of 
the younger sister of Mr. Porter, and prompted her 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 4:9 

to address a letter to him, dated January 13, 1837, 
and found among his papers after his decease. She 
goes on to say : 

" You may perhaps be aware that I have long been a wor- 
shipper at the shrine of the Muses. They sometimes smile upon 
me with a friendly spirit of encouragement, and now have 
deigned to inspire me with the ambitious scheme of winning 
the prize for the best American tragedy suited to the peculiar 
genius of Miss Clifton. As you are one of the number selected to 
examine the efforts of the aspirants, I do not hesitate to commit 
to your hand the following extracts from my unfinished tragedy 
of Hophir: 

Act 1st, Scene 1st, Copenhagen. — An Apartment in Gyneth's Bower. 

Gyneth. Fold up the curtain, Ina, 
And let the crimson morn burst on my aching vision. 
Sleep has kiss'd his last farewell to me, 
And time drags weary off. 

Ina. Holy Mother save thee ! mistress Gyneth, 
And teach thee patience to endure the frowns 
Of fortune. Ne'er repine — 
Three more suns must set, 
And Gyneth's bosom will thrill 
With deeper joy than 

Gyneth. How ! what ! Say you that he, 
The Lord of Porter — will be here ? 

Ina. Yes, sweet lady, — 
He of six feet lineage, and gilded crow-quill, 
Was, by the artifice of a " Girl Up Town? 
Releas'd from prison. A carrier-bird 
Dropp'd at my feet this morn 
These perfumed stanzas, which unsuspecting, 
Eagerly I traced : 

" Dear Gyneth, to thy arms I fly, 
Tho' wardour's tower be steep and high, 

And maelstroms fill the air ; 
3 



50 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

Not unicorn, or tusked boar, 
Shall keep me from my true love more, 
The brightest of the fair. 

For thee I'll curl my twisted crest — 
For thee I'll wear my " yarllerest" vest, 

My stiffest collar, too ; 
My standard with Propontic fury, 
I'll wave on top of Alpine Jura, 
— Then fleet, my love, to you, 

Then haste my pye-bald, gallant steed, 
Thro' rushing stream and verdant mead, 

And make thy nostrils snort ; 
While I for love and my ador'd 
Poise the tall lance, grasp high the sword, 

And peal aloud Le Mort I " 

Gyneth. Hand o'er the lines, 
And let my burning eye-balls trace the hand 
Of him I love. Yes, 'tis true, his own lov'd signet. 
Haste thee, Ina, and bid old Gaffer 
Set in preparation all things fit, of mirth, 
And song, and joyous cheer, to greet 
The near approach of York's tall son. \Exit Ina. 

Scene II. — Moonlight. 

\Hophir appears on the top of a dilapidated tower.'] 

Hophir. Moon, — cold, loco-foco moon, I loathe thy light ; 
Thou who dost shine upon the sea and sand 
Alike indifferent — who round the rugged world rolls 
Kapid on in rotatory revolution, 
Like a green cheese upon the deep above, — 
Thou marrest all my schemes, betraying moon ! 
Thy silvery beams disclose my wisest plans. 
Shut out thy light — stars hide your rays — 
I hate ye — aye, as fervent as I hate 
The blue-eyed lord of her whom my heart loves. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 51 

Yes ! shake ye fountains ! freeze ye gelid skies, 
I am for Patagonian revels, and the throne — 
Beauty and wealth wave o'er me. Speed my aim 
Ye powers of air, who live in the blue flame ! 
On Hophir's brow let fall the crown of gold ! 
My name is Haynes — I'm off, or I shall catch a cold 
Upon this turret — or, perhaps, the jaunders, 
Because I've left my wig for curling at that Saunders. 

{Exit Hophir. 

"New Yoke, April 8, 1837. 

"Dear Sistee Saeah 

"Will hardly credit me when I assure her, that in my card- 
rack over my desk is a letter addressed to herself, that was 
written weeks upon weeks since ; but pity 'tis, 'tis true. The fact 
was, after I had taken a deal of pains to write a famous letter as 
long as your arm, or my boot, I very promiscuously misdirected 
it as Paul Pry would say, whereat George laughed so much, that 
I, in a huff, expunged it, by drawing black lines across the face, 
and every day since have been thinking of re-writing it. Entre 
nous, I have now and then something to do, or your dear letter 
and charming communication would, despite my carelessness, 
have been acknowledged long since. As it is, after frankly 
pleading guilty of unpardonable inattention, I throw myself upon 
the mercy of the court, after first engaging your husband as my 
counsellor, who, I trust, will bribe the judge (with a kiss) to let 
the defendant off with a reprimand on promise of future good 
behavior. 

" You cannot conceive, my darling Sis, of the pleasure your 
letter excited in us, I say ' us,' for I speak not only for myself, 
but for my ten thousand readers. You, of course, have seen it 
immortalized and preserved in c Spirit,' and probably have won- 
dered at my gazetting you among the Staels, the Landons, and 
though last, not least in our dear love, the Trollopes of the 19th 
century. Such a langh as the Clifton and Dr. Pangloss of all the 
Porters had over it ! She really screamed over ' York's tall son,' 
and vows to embody it in some love-lorn soliloquy. She 



52 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

declares that not one of the veritable tragedies offered for her 
$1,000' prize are comparable with it, and, i' faith, she speaks truth, 
for I have read them — a paragraph each — and had I not been 
predestined a dunce, I should have caught the infection of their 
stupidity. The Doctor — the hearty old cock — strutted about 
like a hen with one chick, as if he knew more of the authorship 
of ' Hophir ' than he really did. He carried the original manu- 
script in his pocket until worn to shreds, and then supplied him- 
self with about a dozen and one over of copies, the which were 
crammed one in each pocket, another in his hat, and for what I 
know, one in each boot. These he read to everybody, making 
a holiday for his scholars, while he himself, like Leigh Hunt's 
pig, went up all manner of streets, radiant with the quips and 
quirks of the sentimental ' Gyneth,' winning raptures of applause 
by the emphasis and discretion, the grace and dignity, the pathos 
and feeling, the taste and humor with which he invested the 
life-drawn pictures of the amiable princess and chivalrous ' Lord 
of Porter ! ' Miss Clifton and myself were about rehearsing it one 
night, and should, but that instead of catching her, I was like to 
catch a cold, so that throwing aside the maiden delicacy of ' Gy- 
neth,' she opened the portals, let fall the drawbridge, and invited 
the ' Tall Son ' above mentioned ' to come in to supper,' when, 
what with her oysters and beauty, champagne and wit, pretty 
eyes and olives, French rolls, ardent sympathies, and capital cook, 
4 the original tragedy of Hophir ' was shelved. When the warm 
weather comes — some fervid night in the dog-days — she has 
promised and agreed to order a tremendous bowl of lemonade, 
when we are to rehearse the same with becoming gravity and 
spirit. 

" E.'s new-born girl is a cherub ! — I haven't let her fall but 
twice ; — the image of her uncle William, and strange to tell, born 
without teeth. I've named her already, just to put her aunts out 
of all pain on that account, Frances, Bentimia, Sarah-phina, 
Wilhelmina, Georgiana, Seton, Startin, Brinley Porter. 

" Now, my darling S., do write me often. The Doctor and 
George are so occupied as to give me no assistance whatever, and 
with the sole charge of my paper and its thousand cares upon 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 53 

my hands, cares of which you have no idea — obliged to write on 
subjects, and knowingly, of which I have little practical knowl- 
edge, my time is incessantly occupied. My correspondents are 
immensely numerous, and compel my prompt response, but they 
are necessary to the success of my paper, which, by the by,, is 
doing gloriously. 

" With best love to F., believe me your devoted 

"Bkother William." 



54 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 



CHAPTER III. 

In the spring of 1839, a meeting of gentlemen took 
place at the Astor House, for the purpose of infusing 
fresh life and spirit into Northern Racing, by the for- 
mation of a new club for the Union Course ; under 
whose auspices the year commenced with every ap- 
pearance of a successful season in all sections of the 
country. A post match, for $20,000, was concluded to 
come off over the Newmarket Course, in Virginia. 
Great preparations were made for races over the Course 
at Trenton, N J., and elsewhere, and a produce Stake 
with a subscription of $2,000 each, $400 forfeit, two 
miles heat, to be called " The Hampton Stake," was 
projected. 

Commodore Ridgley was re-elected President ; 
Messrs. John A. King, John C. Stevens, H. Wilkes, 
and James Foster, Yice Presidents ; Messrs. Henry 
K. Toler, Gouverneur Kortwright, Wm. K. Gaston, 
and Gerard L. Coster, Stewards of the New York 
Jockey Club, and its organization was celebrated by a 
dinner at the Astor House. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 55 

Mr. King presided, and eloquently addressed the 
company npon the object of the meeting. A Club 
was formed for three years. " The song, the toast, 
and the enlivening story succeeded each other ; and 
as the circling glass went round, flowing bumpers 
were pledged to the good men and true of the South 
and West, and heel-taps discolored no goblets quaffed 
to the Sports of the Turf." 

Mr. Porter was of opinion that there should be a 
tribunal of some sort, to which the various Jockey 
Clubs, as well as individuals, could resort for the ad- 
justment of controverted questions, and in a strong 
appeal in favor of a Turf Convention, he says : 

" So desirable do we deem a convention of the friends of the 
Turf, with a view to the adoption of a uniform code of rules, and 
the establishment of a Court of Appeal for doubtful points, that 
we should gladly advocate it with such ability as we could com- 
mand, had the project not found an able supporter in the gentle- 
man who first suggested it. The proposition is worthy of the 
most serious consideration of turfmen. The permanent well- 
being of the turf depends not alone upon one, or two Jockey Clubs 
or States. The character of all sportsmen suffers by every act 
of injustice, or by any suspicion of unfair management that may 
be attached to the most insignificant club or association. The 
direct method of avoiding the hazard of foul play, and any pur- 
pose of it, is the creation of a tribunal, the power of which may 
be brought to bear directly upon all clubs formed, as auxiliary to 
it, or with an acknowledgment of its jurisdiction ; and indirectly, 
as by exclusion, upon all other clubs. There would be no hazard 
of conflicting jurisdictions, for in associations for the promotion 
of sport, and the improvement of the breed of horses, there are 
no diverse interests to be concerned, no sectional jealousies to 
allay ; it is our pride, that in the pleasures of the turf, common 



56 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

sense and manly amusement are the only ends of association, 
and perfect honor the principle of constitution. 

" A board of umpires, or a central Jockey Club, which should 
give law in general questions to the local clubs, could by no 
possibility be actuated by motives of interest ; composed as it 
would be of gentlemen of the highest moral worth, from different 
sections of the country, the local influence of an individual, which 
sometimes tyrannizes in a small association, is neutralized, or 
stripped of all power save that which integrity of purpose, and 
intelligence as to means, should ever command. 

" To pursue in the details the advantages which would accrue 
from the formation of an ' American Jockey Club,' would take 
us beyond the limits we had marked out for this discussion, or 
trench upon the ground covered by our correspondent in the 
following, and in a preceding letter. A uniformity of decision 
as to Betting, general rules governing the Entrances to Stakes, 
and the Payment of Forfeits, a more uniform Adjustment of 
Weights, a strict Regulation of Running Heats, — these are obvious 
and palpable results of a Turf Convention, which should provide 
us with a constitution for ' The American Jockey Club.' But 
by far the most commanding consideration upon our own minds, 
is the respectability and dignity which it would confer upon the 
Sports of the Turf, in the "United States. • To the 'Jockey Club ' 
in England, and the consideration commanded by its members in 
general society, by their wealth, by their intelligence, and by 
their moral worth, is to be attributed the high and palmy state 
of the Turf in Great Britain. Racing is the National Sport of 
that country, and so will it continue to be, as long as its manly 
pleasures, so natural to man, and especially to the Anglo-Saxon 
race, shall be hedged in from abuse, or the suspicion of abuse, by 
an Association of Gentlemen, sans peur et sans reproche. 

" "Will not turfmen be persuaded to give the subject their atten- 
tion, and commune together upon the practicability and the 
propriety of the preliminary step — a Turf Convention, to be held 
next winter at Washington ? That city is named by us, because 
it has been suggested by the originator of the whole plan in his 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 57 

letter from Natchez, because Congress will then be in session, 
and because general political conventions are to be held there, 
or at a city still further Forth, during the approaching session. 
And may we not further call upon gentlemen, for the expression 
of their views upon the whole proposition, — persuaded that 
whatever may be the decision as to the precise plan marked out 
by our correspondent, a general discussion of the subject will 
inevitably promote the interests and the respectability of the 
Turf?" 

Contemporaneous with this suggestion, sprang up 
a controversy" upon the question : "Is a bet naming 
two horses against the field, void, if one of the horses 
named fail to start % " Here was a case where a 
common, recognized, appellate tribunal could be 
profitably appealed to. A correspondent of the 
" Spirit," J. K. D., assuming as a maxim that a bet 
must stand in all cases, unless made void by its terms, 
or one party has no chance to win, his communi- 
cation elicited this response from the pen of George 
Porter : 

"In reading the communications of 'J. K. D.,' we are 
reminded of our college days, when we had to battle it with the 
Moral Philosophy Prof, about 'Edwards on the Will.' The 
logic of the old divine was too subtle for young minds, and ad- 
mitting his reasonable premises, he would straightway hurry you 
into conclusions, accurately deduced therefrom, which revolted 
your moral sense, though you could discover no way of escape 
from them. So it is with our correspondent, he maintains his 
position with such dexterity and cogency, that it appears im- 
possible to dislodge him, though we are satisfied that the position 
is a false one. We will make one effort more to set ourselves 
right, both with ' J. K. D.' and our readers. 

" The whole argument of ' J. K. D.' is built upon this as- 
sumption, that a bet must stand in all cases, unless it is made 



58 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

void by its express terms, or unless one party has no chance to 
win. On this latter clause hangs all the controversy. "We give 
to it this interpretation, that a bet shall stand when the party has 
the chance to win named in the I>et, or which was in the reason- 
able contemplation of both parties. That is, if I bet on a horse, 
I am entitled to the chance of his starting ; if I name two horses, 
I am entitled to the chance of their both starting, and not one 
of them ; by the expresss terms of the bet, I name two horses, 
and not one of two. ' J. K. D.' says no ; if but one of the 
horses start, you have a chance to win, and therefore the bet 
must stand. Here is the sole point at issue. 

" The burden of proof lies not upon us, but upon ' J. K. D.' 
I name two horses, and I am certainly entitled to the two, unless 
' J. K. LV can cite a rule which shall say that one of the two is 
enough to satisfy the requisitions of the bet. But there is no 
such rule in express terms. 

" But ' J. K. D.' says that the maxim governs all betting, that 
a bet must stand when there is a chance to win. And yet there 
is an express rule, that where one horse is betted on, and fails to 
start, the bet is off. Now, what is the use of such a rule if the 
maxim of ' J. K. D.' actually governs all betting, as he interprets 
that' maxim ? It would be plainly useless — mere surplusage. 

" We do not insist upon a vague and uncertain rule, but a 
rule fixed and reasonable, a rule like that which governs all con- 
tracts, all transactions between man and man. The bettor should 
have that chance to win which he reserved by the express terms 
of his bet, or which is fairly to be inferred from its terms. If I 
aame Mingo in a race, Mingo must start, or it is no bet ; if I 
name Mmgo and Post Boy, Mingo and Post Boy, not Mingo or 
Post Boy, must start, or it is no bet. This is reasonable, this is 
common sense, and this is law, unless ' J. K. D.' can cite an ex- 
press rule to the contrary. 

" There is no need of ' J. K. D.'s ' maxim, if he will give it the 
interpretation for which we contend, and that is the reason why 
it cannot be found in the betting codes. A bet must stand, of 
course, when there is a chance to win, — that is, the chance named, 
the chance which each party knows the other betted on, — or, in 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 59 

case of dispute, the chance which a Court or Jockey Club would 
infer from the express words of the bet, to be the chance bet- 
ted on. 

" Now in what way can I more surely signify my intention 
of betting on two horses (not P. P.) than by naming two, — not 
one, nor one of two, but two ? Now the chance on which I bet is 
the chance of having two horses start ; there is no uncertainty 
about it, no vagueness, such as ' would annul all bets.' Nothing 
is said in the *bet about the condition of the horses, or of the 
track, nor of the ownership of the horse, and, therefore, nothing 
is to be inferred on those points as being ' the chance on which 
I betted ; ' but it is certainly a fair inference, and a clear, un- 
doubted one, that two horses must start. Again we say, the 
burden of proof lies upon the other side. 

" There does not appear to us to be room for much argument 
here. It is a simple proposition : ' Does betting on two horses 
entitle me to two, or one of the two ? ' "We hold the two, and 
' J. K. LV ' one of the two.' But in the course of this newspaper 
writing, many cases have been put to illustrate the hardship of 
the rule, construe it which way you will. These are, of course, 
but illustrations. ' J. K. D.' has the benefit of the last case, 
which certainly seems hard, but so confident are we of the 
security of our position, that we shall rest here, without an 
effort to suppose a harder case, a more flagrant instance. 

" But it is proper, before quitting the subject, to deprive ' J. 
K. D.' of the appearance of an advantage, which he derives from 
his illustration of a bettor on ' the field.' He says that in the 
Louisville sweepstakes of ten nominations, the man who names 
five of them against ' the field ' should be in no better situation 
than he who takes the field. He might just as reasonably con- 
tend that a bet was unfair should a man name one P. P. in that 
stake against the field. There would be no unfairness in such a 
bet ; it would surely show that one of the bettors was a fool. 
Mark the want of candor in ' J. K. D.'s ' argument here. There 
is a positive, written rule, defining ' the field.' Every bettor is 
supposed to know that rule, and that by the terms of it, if he 
back ' the field,' he may be reduced to one horse. Now, because 



60 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

a man is silly enough to take ' the field ' against half the entries 
in a sweepstakes named expressly, 'J. K. D.' cries out unfairness. 
He should rather cry out upon the folly of his field bettor. 
"What, in Heaven's name, was the need of a rule defining a ' field,' 
if naming two or more horses amounted to the same thing ? It 
is a term purely technical, like ' Play or Pay,' and as he who 
names the field is by rule entitled to one horse at all events, be- 
cause he stipulates for one horse by the terms of his bet, so he 
who stipulates for two horses, or for forty horses* is entitled to 
them, if there be any meaning in language, and any man rash 
enough to bet against forty named horses. 

"Since the above was written, we have received another 
long communication on this subject, maintaining our side of the 
question. We give place to a portion of it ; several heads of it, 
however, we omit, as they seem calculated to provoke further 
discussion, though really very good. We thank ' D. E.' for his 
assistance, and beg him to excuse us for so abbreviating his article. 
' J. K. LV will likewise observe that we have suppressed the 
concluding paragraph of his paper. It might wound the feelings 
of others, and would certainly call out a reply, although it does 
not pretend to bear upon the argument. 

Mr. Porter, as an act of civility to his uncle, Mr. 
Olcott, always sent him " The Spirit." The following 
letter from the latter is so creditable to both gentle- 
men, that it ought not to be hoarded in private : — 



" Hanover, IUJi March, 



Dear Cousin "William, — 



" I was absent when your letter of December arrived, and 
Prof. Adams * (after he had ciphered it over and cast out the 
9s) deeming it necessary for him to hold it as a voucher against 
you, it has ' not since come under my eye, which is my poor 
apology for not having replied to it ; this I ought the more 

* Of Dartmouth College ; a man of high honor and great excellence 
of character ; guardian of William and the younger children. F. B. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 61 

especially to have done — for though this little affair might not 
figure much in amount in Wall Street, it has toed right up to the 
mark when the time came, as honorably as if it had been done 
by the Primes or the Eothschilds. In these ' costermonger 
times,' when not only Burke's age of chivalry towards the sex 
was gone, but all chivalry in money matters is trampled in the 
mire, to see old claims that had been dead and buried, ordered 
to be raised and brought to life again — to direct principal and in- 
terest to be paid in full, and see ''paid ' on the letter announcing 
it — this cannot be a transaction of late years, I think, but must 
belong to another century — must be a dream of bygone and 
better days, when at least one's self-respect was worth something 
to "him, if nothing else. 

" I am very glad to learn that much success is expected from 
your paper, and I hope you may realize from it all the fame and 
money that would be good for you. Your Andover masters little 
dreamed what they were raising up, when they thought they 
were preparing you for the Recorder. 

" It could hardly be expected that one of my age would be 
much attracted with a heading of ' Fill high the bowl with 
Samian wine.' I therefore skim over your paper and light upon 
parts for reading, as the clergyman who divided his sermon into 
three heads : the world, the flesh, and the devil — and said he 
should just glance at the world 3 touch lightly upon the flesh, and 
hasten to the devil ! 

" We shall be glad to see you or any of the blood at Hanover, 
and with hearty good wishes to all of you, 

" I remain most truly yours, &c, 

" Mills Oloott." 

The " Spirit of the Times " was a coveted and 
favorite name, judging from the frequency of its ap- 
propriation by those who had no right to rise it, and 
the editor thus adverts to this poaching on his do- 
main. The " Boston Morning Post " announced that 
a new democratic paper had been established in Phila- 



* 



62 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

delphia, under the cognomen of " The Spirit of the 
Times," and very gravely added, " Its name is appro- 
priate." " Can't say," writes Mr. Porter, " we see 
any thing very ' appropriate ' about it, save the ap- 
propriation of a good name. This makes the fourth 
time the immediate jewel of our soul has been pilfered 
from us by some Hateful Parkins in this kind of 
way. We were first frightened out of our propriety 
by a great, bloody, anti-Masonic ' Spirit,' in the 
western part of this State ; a Republican Spirit then 
started in Maryland ; then all sorts of Spirits in 
Arkansas and Missouri ; and now the ' deep damnation 
of our taking off,' is chargeable to a democratic Spirit 
in Philadelphia. Since the first number of our paper 
was issued on the 10th of December, 1831, no less than 
seven newspapers have sprung into existence, bearing 
the same euphonious and elegant appellation. These 
young ' Spirits ' are generally pretty clever fellows ; 
their very name is a tower of strength, and if they 
follow in the steps of their illustrious predecessor, 
there's no telling but they may become as popular 
and respected as their great old grandfather." 

The oldest magazine then published in the United 
States was " The American Turf Register and Sport- 
ing Magazine," commenced in 1829, by Hon. John S. 
Skinner, of Baltimore, for the express purpose of re- 
covering as much as possible of the lost early pedi- 
grees of the magnates of the American Turf, and for 
the preservation of authentic records for the future. 
In February, 1839, it was purchased by Mr. Porter, 
and came under his editorial control. Mr. Herbert, 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 63 

in alluding to it, said, " it passed into the hands of the 
most able and admirable Turf-writer, than whom the 
Turf of America has had no more consistent advocate, 
or more strenuous defender." 

The first number of the " Register " issued by ]VIr. 
Porter, contains a characteristic letter to him from 
its former editor, Mr. Skinner : — 

" Baltijioee Post Office, 1st Ifarch, 1S39. 
" To Wm. T. Porter, Esq. 

'' My Deak Sie, — Bight glad am I to have my favorite hobby 
— the old ' Turf Register] fall under your care. It was the first 
of its race ever bred in the United States. Its natural history is 
remarkable, as it had but one sire and no dam ; when it was 
foaled it was not certain where or whether it would find food or 
pasture. It was thrown upon the wild world, without any 
guarantee of corn or long fodder — but being watched with care, 
and sent out once a month on short excursions, for air, exercise, 
and exhibition, the friends of its founder, far and near, who had 
been previously taught by him to make good crops, most kindly 
and generously petted and pampered the young hobby, — sending 
it an ample supply of provisions, until it grew, in four or five 
years, to be a nag of good size and full of spirit. But, like all 
things excellent, in this enterprising Yankee nation, in the progress 
and ' Spirit of the Times] it met its rival ! Passing from one 
hand to another, it has happily ceased to run the race ' antago- 
nistical ' by being led, where old ' Napoleon ' sends all that he 
can't beat, into the same stable with its competitor ; here I sin- 
cerely hope, both will long live in the best condition. ' The 
Spirit of the Times ' may do the light skirmishing to amuse the 
crowd, while the more ponderous 'Begister ' is reserved for more 
serious work ; as Monarch is held back, for the four-mile day, by 
a nobler man than any monarch that lives. 

" As I have some right to know what will suit the old horse's 
constitution and temper, should he ever show signs of getting 
amiss, and you may imagine that his old groom can suggest any 



64 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

thing to bring him right, you must not fail to call on his and your 
friend and humble servant." 

This first number contained one hundred and 
twenty-eight pages of valuable matter, to which the 
new editor contributed an " Introduction," an article 
on trout-fishing, which was illustrated by an exqui- 
sitely finished picture, the pedigree and performances 
of ETarJcaway, and a capital essay on English Eclipse ; 
it was further embellished by accurate portraits of 
those horses, and more than realized the highest ex- 
pectations of the friends of Mr. Porter. 

The number for March and April contained a por- 
trait of Plenipotentiary ', with a memoir by the editor, 
and an admirable steel engraving of the Traineau of 
D'Orsay, full of rich life and movement. The May 
and June number was exquisitely embellished by an 
engraving called a Forest Joust, and Trout Fishing, and 
contained an illustrated article on Fly Fishing by the 
editor, with the usual amount of literary and sporting 
matter. In this number that distinguished scholar 
and sportsman, the late William Henry Herbert, com- 
menced a series of admirable sketches, entitled "A 
week in the Woodlands, or Scenes on the Road and 
round the Fire," which he published over the signa- 
ture of " Frank Forrester" a celebrated nom deplume 
originating with George Porter, and readily adopted 
by the gifted author. 

In the July number there was a portrait of Don 
John, with a memoir by Mr. Porter ; and in that for 
the next month appeared a portrait of Mr. Stevens' 
Janette, with an editorial memoir, together with a spir- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 65 

ited engraving of Landseer's amusing sketch, " Run- 
ning the thing into the ground," which is archly de- 
scribed by the editor, but closes in this practical vein : 
" Badinage apart, our engraving is a sly, but well- 
conceived and pertinent caricature, that will be well 
understood by those proprietors of race-courses who 
are in the habit of resorting to ' Mule-races, and 
Foot-races, and Gander-pullings, and Cock-fights,' to 
swell the receipts of enclosures devoted to the legiti- 
mate Sports of the Turf. Wherever the sports of the 
Turf have been brought into discredit, it will be 
found, nine cases in ten, that the mismanagement of 
the proprietors of the course has been the primary 
cause ; the real friends of the Turf have more to fear 
from them than from open and declared enemies. 
"Whoever heard of racing being unpopular in a section 
of country where the courses were managed by men 
of character and respectability — on the ground of any 
objection against racing itself? The Charleston races 
are the most popular, the most fashionable, and the 
best attended of any in the United States. Race- 
week, in that city, has been aptly termed i the Car- 
nival ' of South Carolina — the annual jubilee of the 
State. The reason is perfectly obvious ; the course 
and its appointments are under the control of gentle- 
men of the highest character, and nothing is permitted 
to interfere with the legitimate sports of the Turf, 
which are managed with a degree of spirit, liberality, 
and scrupulous propriety unknown elsewhere on this 
side of the Atlantic. In Charleston a gentleman feels 
no more hesitation in enjoying with his family the 



66 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

festivities and enlivening sports of the race-field, than 
he would the attractions of the theatre, or any other 
rational source of amusement. The consequence is, 
that the ladies' pavilion during the meeting, and the 
Jockey Club Ball at its close, are crowded with the 
elite of the beauty, the fashion, and the chivalry of 
the State. 

" The number of gentlemen interested in the suc- 
cess of the Turf in this country, has more than doubled 
within the last ten years, and it is daily becoming 
more and more popular. The great practical advan- 
tage to be derived from its extension and successful 
prosecution, are deemed so important in a national 
point of view, that many of the Governments of 
Europe are lending it their aid, and keenly watching 
over its interests. We have nothing here to do but 
to go on and prosper, keeping in view this single fact, 
that if the legitimate ends of the Turf are stanchly 
maintained, it must become at length universally and 
eminently popular with all classes of society, while its 
friends will best subserve its true interests and their 
own, by frowning down those individuals whose mal- 
practices have so long been ' Running the thing into 
the Ground!'" 

" JST, of Arkansas," " Frank Forrester," and other 
distinguished writers appear in this number, which 
contained but five selected articles. Among the new 
correspondents is " Cypress, Jr." the accomplished 
author of the delightful sketches which were published 
in the " American Monthly Magazine," under the des- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 67 

ignation of " Fire-Islandana," and attracted great 
attention both in this country and in Europe. 

The embellishments for the September number 
were portraits of " Bloomsbury " and of " Deception," 
with memoirs by the editor ; and in that for the next 
month, he announces that he was making arrange- 
ments to give a series of portraits of distinguished 
Turfmen. The November number contained an illus- 
trated article on " Duck Shooting," by " Cypress, Jr.," 
the sixth day of " A week in the Woodlands," and 
other excellent matter ; that for December closed the 
tenth volume of the Magazine, being the first of the 
new series under the conduct of Mr. Porter ; it con- 
tained an engraved Title Page — " The Turn-out of the 
Season " on steel, and an outline of Charles XII. on 
wood. The editor in his " Address on the close of 
the volume," said that the Magazine was commenced 
with little promise on his part, and not with any hope 
of large pecuniary profit ; and in this last particular it 
seems he was not disappointed ; still he boldly purposed 
to conduct the next volume on the same plan of liberal 
outlay. A careful Index appropriately closes the 
volume, to which are added as Appendices, "the 
American Eacing, and the English Pacing Calendars 
for 1839," most elaborately prepared. 

The January number for that year gives a highly 
spirited portrait of Charles XII., winner of the Great 
St. Leger Stakes, 1839, and a woodcut of a " splint 
used for fractured limbs of horses." 

Among the contents of the February number, are 



OO LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

a memoir of Wacousta, by the editor, with a portrait ; 
and a brilliant sketch of " Wild horses fighting," on 
copper, by Bannerman after Herring. 

The number for March, an admirable one, is em- 
bellished by a stylish portrait of Col. Singleton'.s Phe- 
nomena, with an editorial memoir, and notices of that 
gentleman's stock. But its chief and attractive feat- 
ure is Mr. Porter's masterly report of the great race 
between Wagner and Grey Eagle. A memoir and 
an engraving of Col. Hampton's imported mare 
Delphi?ie, with Herald at her foot, is in the April 
number, with notices of his stock. And so we might 
go on with all the numbers of this brilliant periodical, 
which was unrivalled for the high finish of its en- 
gravings, the exquisite beauty of its type, and its sport- 
ing excellence, until it ceased to exist, Dec. 1844. 

The price of a complete set of the Turf Register, 
ten volumes, was at that time seventy-five dollars. It 
cannot be purchased at this date for even that large 
price. 

In the April number of the Magazine, 1841, Mr. 
Porter records the death of one of his especial friends, 
as well as one of the most admirable contributors to the 
Register, William P. Hawes, Esq., known as J. Cy- 
press, Jr. His productions were remarkable for their 
wit and pathos, and classic elegance. He died at the 
early age of thirty-eight. Had his life been pro- 
longed, his brow would have been encircled with the 
triple crown of legal, political, and literary merit. It 
was to the fresh creations of his mind, and to " Frank 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 69 

Forrester," Pete Whetstone, the author of the " Quar- 
ters' Eace " and " Jones's Fight," that the Spirit and 
Register were indebted for much of that fascinating 
and original literature to which Mr. Porter lent his 
special patronage and fostering care. 

In comparing the communications in the English 
Sporting Magazines with those which were contrib- 
uted to American publications, Mr. Porter took oc- 
casion at that date to say : " In the purely literary 
magazines the English beat us a long way. In Eng- 
land, which for more than a century has boasted the 
most respectable Sporting Magazines, the appropriate 
themes are somewhat exhausted. The Great Race 
meetings are necessarily monotonous. To give spirit 
and the interest of adventure to their sketches, the 
greater number of sporting writers lay the scenes of 
their articles in foreign lands. British India and our 
own country are most often selected ; and it is rare that 
you open either of the Sporting Magazines without find- 
ing a bear, a buffalo, or a panther hunt in the United 
States. It is to the exhaustless supply of material 
of this nature, the adventurous life of a frontier settler, 
incidents of travel over prairies and among mountains 
hitherto unknown to the white man, the singular variety 
of manners in different States, springing from their 
difference of origin, of climate and product, peculiar- 
ities of scenery unhackneyed by a thousand tourists, 
to this is to be attributed the greater freshness and 
raciness of American sketches. In pure turf-writing, 
England never boasted of an author equal to ' An 



70 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

Old Turfman.' In plain elegant English, logical 
deductions and perfect familiarity with his subject, 
he was superior even to ' Nimrod.' Nor have our 
Turf-writers all passed away with the ' Old Turfman.' 
Many still remain, who ever and anon delight and 
instruct our readers." 

In December, 1839, Mr. Porter made another 
delightful circuit through the South and "West, renew- 
ing old intimacies and forming new ones at Louisville, 
Lexington, &c, and everywhere receiving the most 
gratifying hospitalities. The interests and prosperity 
of the publications under his care were the chief 
objects of his journey. Returning fresh from the 
" Race-Horse Region," he was in fine condition to 
minister to the tastes of his readers. 

Notwithstanding the heavy addition of the Regis- 
ter to his labors and disbursements, Mr. Porter carried 
out several proposed arrangements for the improve- 
ment of the " Spirit," and the first number of the ninth 
volume came out March, 1839, in an enlarged and 
attractive form, with a beautiful engraving of Augusta, 
the celebrated danseuse, in the character of " La Syl- 
phide," and a portrait of Black Maria, by Dick, from 
a painting by Troye. As the old mare entertained 
some vulgar prejudice against " sitting for her por- 
trait," Troye directed Bill Patrick, her faithful groom, 
to ride her out into a paddock in front of his window. 
This proceeding might be all very well for the painter 
and the mare, Bill thought, but as for him, he was in- 
clined to sulk after two hours' promenading ; so whip- 
ping off his saddle, he incautiously determined to hitch 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 71 

the mare and " bolt," for which disregard of orders 
and lukewarnmess in facilitating the progress of the 
tine arts, Troye clapped him into his picture in the 
very act of committing so grave an ofTence in the eye 
of a turfman, or an artist, as hitching a race-horse to 
a tree ! Of course he will now go down through all 
time as the boy who was guilty of so unpardonable a 
sin ; but for fear his punishment would be greater 
than he could bear, Troye, through urgent interces- 
sion, was finally induced to remit a portion of the 
punishment he had intended, by concealing his face ! 
This fine engraving was the first of a series of costly 
embellishments which the liberal editor continued 
for several years. 

The price of the paper was raised from five to ten 
dollars. ]STo expense or labor was spared to furnish a 
journal to be identified with the sporting interest in 
America, that should be creditable alike to the editor, 
and worthy of the cause he advocated. In answer to 
his solicitations for advice upon increasing the price 
of the paper, he was assured by the most distinguished 
Breeders and Turfmen throughout the Union, of their 
hearty support; "make the < Spirit of the Times' 
to the American sporting world," said they, " what 
' Bell's Life in London ' is to the English — flinch at 
no expense in procuring early information, or in im- 
proving its appearance and the extent and variety of 
its contents, and you will find Brother Jonathan will 
not be behind John Bull in backing his friends." 

For the " Spirit " of June 2, 1838, Mr. Porter 
wrote a full account of the gallant race between Bos- 



72 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

ton and Charles Carter — the best four-mile heat, with 
the exception of Henry's, that had been made in the 
United States. 

The five great match races which have taken place, 
and which will immortalize the names of the contest- 
ing horses in the annals of the American Turf, are 
those of American Eclipse and Sir Henry, of Ariel 
and Flirtilla, of Black Maria and the three mares, 
known as the twenty-mile race, of Wagner and Grey 
Eagle, and of Boston and Fashion. The two last 
were reported by Mr. Porter in a style of undisputed 
excellence. As a turf-writer, he was without a rival 
in this country, or even in England, where sporting 
literature had been cultivated for years by men of 
taste and education. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 73 



CHAPTER IV. 

During the month of March, a new weekly journal 
was projected and started by Dr. Porter and !N". P. 
Willis, Esq., called " The Corsair," the first number 
of which was issued March 16, 1839. 

The " Doctor " from the first intended to make the 
practice of medicine the great business of his life ; 
but a removal from Vermont to New York turned 
the current of his days into unlooked-for channels. 
As his brothers, one by one, followed in the family 
procession to that great city, " thistle-down," as he 
wrote, " never flying faster from the parent stock," an 
increasing sense of loneliness, and the ever-present 
obligation not to intermit a parental supervision of 
the younger brothers, compelled him, as he thought, 
to plant himself by their side, to guide, encourage and 
sustain them. "While waiting and struggling for pro- 
fessional advancement, he was invited to a Professor's 
Chair in the French Academy of Mr. Coudert, which 
he accepted ; its duties allowed him sufficient leisure 
for the indulgence of his passion for general litera- 
4 



74 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEB. 

ture, and lie soon acquired the reputation of a ready 
and spirited writer. 

When he was at the South, he contracted a per- 
manent friendship with Mirabeau B. Lamar, late 
President of Texas. They were in constant corre- 
spondence, and Gen. Lamar's letters breathe a tone 
of rare affection and confidence. In July, 1837, he 
writes, " some say that Houston is about to resign, 
and that I, of course, will have to act as Chief Exec- 
utive until the next election. If this be so, I do 
beseech you, my dear friend, to be certain to come on 
to Texas in October, or earlier, and any thing in my 
power to promote your welfare may be commanded. 
It is a beautiful country, good population, and you 
not only can acquire with little exertion a good for- 
tune, but can greatly promote the cause of free 
government and the general happiness of man. Your 
brother William too — one-half of the talent displayed 
in his paper, would bring him in Texas four-fold fame 
and fortune, and be productive of an hundred more 
of public good." In 1839 he writes, when President 
of that Republic, " I should be proud to place you 
where you could serve the cause of our young and 
high-spirited Republic. Would you be willing to 
come to this country, and identify yourself with my 
fortunes ? " Specific and honorable appointments were 
tendered to him when General Lamar became Presi- 
dent ; but he was not to be moved, though he well 
knew the immediate and prospective value of all that 
he relinquished in deference to his somewhat exagger- 
ated and over-refined sense of youthful obligation. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 75 

His intercourse with editors, publishers and authors, 
drew him into an acquaintance with N. P. Willis, Esq., 
which soon ripened into a lively friendship ; Mr. Wil- 
lis giving him the highest proof of his regard, by dedi- 
cating to him his " Letters from under a Bridge" 
During the summer of 1839, the " Doctor" proposed 
they should establish a weekly newspaper in ISTew 
York, which should be an attractive family journal, 
devoted to literature, dramatic criticism, fashion, and 
novelty ; and at the same time advocate some satis- 
factory system of legislation on the subject of inter- 
national copyright. Mr. Willis gave a willing ear 
to the suggestion, and wrote to the " Doctor," 
" you are the best man in the country to do it — 
with or without me." Among the preliminaries to 
be settled was that of the name of the proposed 
serial, which was of difficult determination. After 
sundry perplexing consultations, that of " The Cor- 
sair " was proposed by the "Doctor," and adopted. 
Mr. Willis wrote, " if I had not heard you split hairs 
and talk like a Professor in a hailstorm, I should 
never have started on a cruise like ours with you. 
Your talent is to be the main-stay of the paper, and 
you are the best off-hand writer I know. You are 
world-wise, which no other literary man I know is 
except Halleck." 

The first number of an enterprise which started 
under the most flattering auspices, was looked for with 
great curiosity, and was esteemed fully up to the 
highest expectations of its friends. In its external 
appearance it resembled the London Spectator, and 



76 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 

contained twice the number of pages of the Albion. 
In typographical arrangement it was very beautiful. 
It ranked high for its selections from the most approved 
literary sources of the day, its original contributions, 
its sound and liberal criticism, and its spirited range of 
observation and scholarship. It was under the " Doc- 
tor's " exclusive editorial charge ; Mr. Willis being 
abroad, and contributing very irregularly to its pages. 
It would be difficult to find a single volume of any 
American literary periodical with more to commend 
it to the scholar and critic, or to the general reader 
desirous of occasional entertainment in the realms of 
literature. It was discontinued after a year's cruise. 
The following letter from Mr. Webster of this date 
evinces his interest in the children of the friend of 
his early days : 

" New Tokk, March 16, 1839. 

" Gentlemen : — I experienced so much kindness and hospi- 
tality in your father's house, and had so much pleasure in his and 
your mother's acquaintance, and remember you so well as boys, 
that I have felt regret at not having found an opportunity of 
seeing and knowing more of you since you came to manhood. 
My interest in the family has led me often to inquire after its 
members, and I have had true pleasure in learning your success- 
ful progress in life. If your leisure should allow you to call on 
me when I may be in the city, or if you should be in Boston, or 
"Washington, when I am in either of those places, I should be 
very glad to see you. In the mean time, I will thank you to send 
me your paper, ' The Spirit of the Times,' addressed to me in 
Boston, when I am not in Washington, and at the latter place 
during the sitting of Congress. I hear, too, that your brother is 
concerned in the ' Corsair.' Will you ask him to send it to me ? 
With many friendly recollections, and uracil regard, I am yours, 

" Daniel Webstee. 

* Messrs. William T. & George Porter." 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 77 

Two months after the date of this letter, Mr. Web- 
ster with his family sailed for England, and Mr. Por- 
ter in chronicling the fact, added the following para- 
graphs : 

" Like all Americans, of whatever political sect, we admire the 
lofty genius of the man, his giant powers of mind, his simplicity, 
his downright honesty. Could he be raised above the reach of 
party divisions, every man in the nation would reverence him as 
the legitimate offspring of our free institutions. Humble in his 
origin, and born in a Democratic State, he caught the inspiration 
of freedom in his infancy. He has been the architect of his 
own fortune ; his elevation in life has been the direct result of 
his own moral and intellectual excellence fostered by our peculiar 
form of government. In his personal and political character, he 
represents the dignity of republicanism. But he possesses other 
characteristics which have especially won our regard and attach- 
ment, and impelled us to this paragraph. Mr. Webster is a 
sportsman, and as such we honor him ; he is one of the best 
shots in the States ; he is as destructive to woodcock, as to his 
adversaries in debate ; at English snipe-shooting, he has hardly 
a compeer. * * * But more than all, Mr. Webster is an 
angler, an humble disciple of Izaak Walton. Show me the man 
who loves trout-fishing, and I will tell you who is generous, and 
brave, and tender-hearted. Such a man is Mr. Webster, and as 
such do we love him more than we respect him for his greatness 
and integrity." 

The advent of the " Corsair " was announced in 
the " Spirit of the Times " in this characteristic para- 
graph : 

" Barclay Street.— *• The Corsair ' will be published about a 
week hence — say on the 16th inst. The proprietors have taken 
an office which is nearly opposite those of the ' Albion ' and 
' Mirror.' We shall hear no more of Paternoster Kow, we fancy, 
now that four such journals as the Mirror, Albion, Corsair, and 



78 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

Spirit of the Times have established themselves in Barclay street. 
A month or two ago, we had another distinguished contemporary 
with us, — we allude to ' La Veritef a French journal, under the 
conduct of that distinguished peruquier, Geand Jeaist, who like- 
wise grows hair to any length and of any color, if we may credit 
the announcements which stare at us from over the way. 
Whether the literary enthusiasm of the Frenchman has at last 
gone out ' spontaneously,' or whether, which we shrewdly suspect, 
he finds wig-making more profitable, we know not ; but the 
truth is, we believe that ' La Yerite ' has left this world." 

There are few who knew William T. Porter and 
his brothers at the time this playful announcement 
was written, who will not love to linger with us for a 
few moments over the recollection of them at that 
time. With firm health, elastic nerve, and a capacity 
for great and protracted mental labor, William had 
succeeded in placing the " Spirit " among the foremost 
weekly journals of the day, and in a fair way to com- 
mand a world-wide celebrity. A mere cursory exam- 
ination of its pages and of those of the " Register," will 
prove how great was the demand upon his mental and 
physical resources, and how gallantly he came up to 
the work ; his intellectual efforts for the year 1839, 
and for the years that he conducted the two publica- 
tions, not always exhibited in the form of elaborate 
essays, but in the laborious preparation of memoirs, 
pedigrees, calendars, tabular statements, and all the 
other matter of these crowded journals, were not sur- 
passed by those of any other editor in this country. 
His list of subscribers comprehended a body of talent, 
character, spirit and wealth, from Hudson's Bay to 
the Caribbean Sea, from the shores of the Atlantic to 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 79 

the Pacific. With seventy-five out of a hundred of 
them, he had the pleasure of a personal acquaintance ; 
some, to be sure, as he said, old enough to be his 
father ; a fact to which he took delight in ascribing 
his success, having relied upon their paternal over- 
sight, sagacious counsel and assistance from the start. 

The five brothers at that time were all living in 
New York, united together by the tender est affection, 
and by almost hourly intercourse. As a group of 
contemporary kinsmen, if they were not all conspicu- 
ous enough to make an impression upon their day 
and generation, they were at least fortunate enough 
to draw round them an electric chain of close and 
admiring fellowship of men of worth and distinction, 
as spontaneous and wide-spread while they lived as it 
proved sincere when the grave closed over them. 
" That band of brothers," writes one of their south- 
ern correspondents, " united as we never remember to 
have seen or heard of any other brothers ; those five, 
brave, gallant, good, glorious Porters." 

There were certain peculiar traits which were 
common to them all. An abhorrence of any thing 
sordid or contracted, an inbred simplicity and frank- 
ness, an acute sense of humor, a passionate love of 
rural sports, an ability to look the inevitable straight 
in the face, however disagreeable, and make the best 
of it. In the " Doctor " and William an irrepressible 
gayety of temperament and a fondness for the society 
of those they loved, admirably fitted them for the 
delights of social and convivial intercourse. The 
" Doctor " was by common consent allowed to have no 



80 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

inconsiderable share of what Christopher North calls 
" the invincible spirit of genius " which inspires a 
good talker. When surrounded by the circle of his 
most familiar friends, of which he was regarded the 
life and ornament, it was delightful to look into his 
fine face, when a topic was started that stirred his 
genial nature. All subjects coming up at such 
moments reflected the prismatic hues of his mind, 
whether they pertained to the qualities of a favorite 
statesman, a criticism upon the book of Job, a race on 
Long Island, or the uncorking of a bottle of Chateaux 
Margaux. " Mony a strange story fell down stane- 
dead when his tongue grew mute. Thoosands o' curi- 
ous, na, unaccountable anecdotes, ceased to be, the 
day his een were closed." 

By taking the bits in his teeth at the time he went 
to Andover, William lost the advantage of the re- 
sources of academic training, and was of course com- 
pelled to severer labor than the " Doctor " or George. 
Faculty, quick observation, diligence, a retentive 
memory, courage and hard work, however, enabled 
him to acquire a manly, graceful, unaffected style, 
marked often by a vein of downright humor as fresh 
and free from all guile as it was characteristic of the 
man. He often recommended to his correspondents 
and to editors of papers, desirous of writing effective- 
ly, the following advice of Lord Jeffrey, and judging 
from his clear and sensible style we have no hesitation 
in believing that he adopted it as a guide to his own 
pen : " A man fully possessed of his subject and con- 
fident of his cause, may always write with vigor and 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 81 

effect, if lie can get over the- temptation of writing 
finely, and really confine himself to the strong and 
clear exposition of the matter he has to bring forward. 
Half of the affectation and offensive pretensions we 
meet with in authors, arises from a want of matter — 
and the other half of a paltry ambition of being elo- 
quent and ingenious out of place." 

No better idea can be had of "William's fitness to fill 
the place he occupied among his fellow-men, than is 
to be found in the general admission that he possessed 
to an eminent degree the qualities which he enume- 
rates in the subjoined paragraph, as essential to the 
position : 

" Every editor of a newspaper should have extensive famili- 
arity with literature ; cultivated tastes, thorough knowledge of 
men and the world, habits of observation and great facility in 
giving expression to his opinions. The qualities of his heart 
should correspond to those of his head — he should be honest, 
generous and brave. Alas ! how few of the craft can pretend 
to a tithe of the few requisites we have enumerated. But into 
the composition of a Sporting editor should be infused, not only 
other ingredients but a double portion of industry, of patience, 
of command of temper, and of charity ; verily he has need of 
all ! Then too he must be learned in a new walk of science — of 
small dignity in the eyes of the multitude, yet entitled to all 
respect for its mysteries, its usefulness, the difficulties of its acqui- 
sition and the ' exceeding ' small number of its adepts ! The 
Stud Book should be as familiar to him as his alphabet ; families 
of horses and their pedigrees should be as well known to him 
as his own. He should be intimate with every Turfman and 
Breeder in the country. He should number among his acquaint- 
ances every Trainer that ever girthed a saddle, and every Jockey 
that throws his leg over a thorough-bred. He should be familiar 
with race courses and their proprietors, with the constitutions, 
4* 



82 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

rules and decisions of every Jockey Club, and with the standing 
of every man connected with the Turf. He should have the 
keenest eye for the points of a horse, know the comparative 
merits of rival champions, and no one should be able to teach 
Mm as to the capacity of different trainers. He must know the 
odds on every horse in advance, foresee the result of every race, 
and withal, act with consummate prudence in giving expres- 
sion to the conclusions at which he arrives by the exercise of 
his rare capacity and foresight ! With all these gifts, super- 
natural, acquired or otherwise, grant him good health, good 
nature, indomitable perseverance and assiduity, and one would 
think he might hope to become reasonably popular as a 
Sporting editor." 

He was habitually considerate of the feelings and 
even the prejudices of others, and with marvellous 
tact brought them to his own conclusions as if they 
were in fact the spontaneous results of their unassisted 
reason. His faculties were clear, acute and honest, 
enabling him to see rapidly through a vexed point or 
obscure question, and to sift and adjust them not only 
to his entire satisfaction, but in his quiet, unpretending 
way, as far from self-conceit as his pleasant smile was 
from dissimulation, to the cheerful acquiescence of the 
parties interested in his decision. The expansive gen- 
erosity of his mind, his patience, his truthfulness and 
entire freedom from the petty motives which often in- 
fluence men much his superiors in masculine preten- 
sion, united to the absolute and sweet frame of his 
temper, gave to his judgments the weight of irreversi- 
ble decrees. 

To give an idea of the literary Exchange in which 
he contrived to write during the high noon of his 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 83 

work-day reputation, and of " the good fellowship 
which rallied round him there as the centre of mag- 
netic attraction," we again cite the correspondent to 
whom we have just referred. 

" In the palmy days of the Turf, when the North had stables 
as well as the South, and when such gentlemen sportsmen as 
Walter Livingston, and Eobeet Tillotson, and Major Jones, 
and the Stevenses, and Commodore Stockton made ' The 
Spirit ' office their head-quarters, and when one never could enter 
its time-honored door without meeting the best company, and 
having the best conversation that was to be found going in 
America ; in those days, what talent, as well as what good fellow- 
ship, used to assemble within those walls, and rally around old 
Bill, as the centre of magnetic attraction. 

" JSTo class of men but had, there, its representative ; no 
branch of talent but had its proficient, from the storming a 
fortress or throwing up an earthwork, to calculating a lunar, or 
club-hauling a ship ; from construing a Greek Chorus to cropping 
a" pup's ears ; from check-mating a first-rate player to cutting 
down a woodcock under full headway in a brake, or stopping a 
coot skating at ninety miles an hour down a northeaster ; from 
running a hundred off the spot, to writing a review for the North 
American, or a poem for Blackwood ; from riding a steeple- 
chase to painting a portrait of Fashion ; from rolling a dozen 
tenstrikes in succession to amputating a thigh in the socket— if 
you wanted anything done, however strange or difficult, or out 
of the common way, in the office of ' The Spirit ' you were sure 
to find the man that could do it, and do it the lest, too, and no 
mistake ! " 

It is perfectly safe to say that neither of the broth- 
ers had a world-wise value for money. "William's 
purse, however, had a peculiarity which did not belong 
to that of the others, it being understood that it was 



84 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

devoted to the use and entertainment of everybody 
but himself. The stanch, but unfortunate gentleman, 
the broken-down scholar, the poor artist, the despised, 
even the very offsconring of humanity, had equal 
right to it as long as it held out the attraction of a six- 
pence, although the spectre of his bootmaker's head 
with an unpaid bill between his teeth, vanishing 
through the door of his sanctum at stated times every 
day in the week, threatened to deprive him of all nat- 
ural sleep. - 

This general suicidal disbursement of what would 
have contributed so much to his own comfort, always 
reminded us of that eccentric branch of the finny fam- 
ily which, according to Old Izaak, " cast their spawn 
on flags or stones to become a prey and to be de- 
voured by vermin and other fishes." Indeed, such 
was his comical carelessness about money, that if the 
wealth of the Caesars had been compressed into a 
bank bill and placed in his hands to meet his " current 
expenses," he would probably, in a sudden rapture 
and enthusiasm over a " hob fly," or the points of a 
favorite horse, have mistaken it for a pinch of " Mrs. 
Miller's best," and incontinently demolished it, and 
upon discovering his misfortune would have re- 
garded it as a capital joke, and dismissed it from 
his mind with the mild philosophy of Uncle Toby. 
It is consoling in this connection to take refuge in 
Paley's idea, that " a man who is not sometimes a 
fool is always one." " "Where in all the world," 
writes Col. Albert Pike, who knew "William as thor- 
oughly and loved him perhaps more devotedly than 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 85 

any other acknowledged friend, " was there so pure, 
so manly, so generous, so unselfish, so loving a soul ? 
Where one so tender, so guileless, so noble, so wholly 
free of all stain or taint of envy, malice, ill-will, 
revenge, uncharitableness ? Let every one who knew 
him answer, if he ever saw the peer of Porter in all 
that constitutes the true, generous, unselfish gentle- 
man, made by God incapable of a base action or a 
sordid impulse." 

In personal appearance the brothers were very 
attractive, which added much to the interest of their 
social intercourse. All of them of commanding 
stature, compact and well put together with the ex- 
ception of the youngest brother, who was of medium 
height, and built of frailer materials than the others. 
Their heads manly, spirited, and gracefully set upon 
their shoulders, the regions of wit and mirth con- 
spicuous in the heads of all of them, their features 
clear, fine and expressive, and when lighted up with 
expansive feeling or flashing a response to some gene- 
rous emotion, it would be difficult to find five brothers 
of equal power to charm and enchain the affections. 

In connection with their environment in Barclay 
street at this time, we insert the following article 
upon " Frank's," a favorite club-house in the vicinity 
of the offices of the " Spirit " and the " Corsair," which 
will be read with interest by those now living who 
can recall the friends and wits who met there nearly 
a score of years ago, the eyes of most of them sealed 
in dust, and the music of their laughter subsided into 
the silence of eternity. 



86 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 



FRANK MONTEVERDE'S IN BARCLAY STREET. 

THE HOUSE AND ITS PATRONS. 

" During the palmy days of the old Olympic, when Mitchel's 
' little box ' was the nightly rendezvous of a knot of men about 
town — fast men of an almost by-gone generation, these ' bloods ' 
were wont to congregate before, or after the play, at a quaint 
public house on the corner of Howard Street, bearing a mysterious 
sign-board, representing something like a counterfeit of those 
engravings we were wont to see pasted on the inside of an im- 
ported segar box. This place, designated the Havannah House, 
at that period was beneath the supervision of a hearty ItaliaD, 
Francis Monteverde, afterwards more familiarly known as 'Frank,' 
and nightly were assembled beneath his roof, and particularly 
within a cosy ante-chamber, motley crowds of actors and pa- 
trons, of sportsmen and of fast gentlemen, discussing the merits 
of the drama, of the turf, and the chase, interrupted only by the 
monotonous clang of domino pieces, employed in deciding wine 
wagers, by means of the then novel game of ' rounce.' 

"Noted as was the Havannah House, fortune, however, des- 
tined Mr. Monteverde to preside over the destinies of another 
establishment still more famous, and whose memory will be ever 
treasured, in connection with the celebrated sporting sheet, the 
' Spirit of the Times,' as the favorite resort of the coterie of 
talented gentlemen who delighted to contribute to the columns 
of that popular journal. Unlike his neighbors, who considered 
it necessary to migrate to the outskirts of the metropolis to an- 
ticipate the emergencies of trade, Frank made a crab-like retro- 
gration and located his hostelry at No. 5 Barclay Street, which 
he forthwith christened by the title of ' Frank's.' Within a few 
doors of his resting-spot was located the office of the ' Spirit ' — 
that museum of literary, artistic, and sporting marvels, the Mecca 
of every Western pilgrim visiting the Atlantic metropolis. 

" For over fifteen years, ' Frank's ' and the ' Spirit ' jogged 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 87 

harmoniously along the road to wealth and fame, until the irre- 
sistible march of improvement dissolved their local connection, 
and, soon after this inimical divorce, the hostelry of Frank be- 
came, as it were, desert in the midst of busy scenes, and survives, 
in the vicinage of its departed glory, but the shadow of a name. 
The bond of association had been broken, and the charm of 
familiarity, which gave so earnest a zest to ' Frank's ' liquid com- 
binations, was wasted upon the generation of merchants 1 clerks 
and store porters, who succeeded the crowd of ' smilers ' follow- 
ing in the wake of the ' Tall Son of York.' Even the original 
building has disappeared to make way for some palace of mer- 
chandise, whose tenants are probably ignorant that they daily 
tread upon ground hallowed by reminiscences of probably as 
great a body of wit, humor and talent, as has ever been congre- 
gated within any four walls of this progressive metropolis ; for 
' Frank's ' in the zenith of its glory may have been justly regarded 
as the Boar's Head of a cis-Atlantic Eastcheap. 

"There were peculiarities distinguishing '.Frank's' which 
could be encountered in no other public house in the city ; it 
was a specialty in its very nature, being to the literary man and 
the higher class of sportsman, a species of intellectual exchange 
comparable to the mercantile relation that ' Delmonico's ' bears 
to its trading patrons. It was the distinction of ' Frank's ' that 
its habitues were considered almost wholly as gentlemen, as the 
term was interpreted by the conservatives of twenty years since, 
meaning thereby men of independent resources, or members of 
the learned professions. In truth, the frequenters at 'Frank's' 
despised any thing like mercantile pursuits, for, being gentlemen 
of education, they treasured a traditional prejudice against that 
which we are nowadays tutored to designate the dignity of com- 
merce. 

" ' Frank's ' may have been regarded as a natural offspring 
from "Washington Hall, many of its elder frequenters having been 
former patrons of that tavern, and a spirit of similarity pervaded 
the conversational atmosphere of both celebrated localities. The 
patrons of each were decidedly fast men, leaders in sports and 
pastimes, Avhose generation is being rapidly extinguished. They 



88 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

were as unlike Young New York as we are to Hercules, our 
juveniles having imitated the townsmen of former days in naught 
save their exceptionable vices. 

" Let us turn our memory to the contemplation of ' Frank's ' 
eighteen years ago — not a long period, to be sure, but long 
enough to have bestowed upon New York an entirely fresh 
population, radically distinct from those who flourished at the 
epoch of which we treat. Let us seat ourselves in one of the 
rough arm chairs hospitably placed by the table, covered with 
newspapers from every part of the world — ' The Spirit's ' ex- 
changes, and make the acquaintance of the habitues at ' Frank's ' 
as they casually visit ' the sanctum,' as the place was familiarly 
entitled. ' Frank's ' was not only a refreshment saloon, but a 
well-appointed club-house, possessing private retreats, an ample 
billiard room, and a couple of bowling alleys, which, however, 
disappeared as that game, to which Masonic Hall was once 
sacrificed, grew in popular disuse. 

" Prominent among the visitors, as a matter of coarse, stood 
"William T. Porter, the well-known editor of The ' Spirit of the 
Times,' which paper he is erroneously supposed to have originated, 
but which was commenced by the late Ohas. J. B. Fisher, who, 
in the imprint of its first issues, announced the fact of its being 
edited by a brother to the celebrated Clara Fisher. ' The Tall 
Son of York,' for William counted six feet four inches, perpen- 
dicular from his stockings, was remarkable for his general suavity 
and disinterested philanthropy, his evident mission on earth 
being, as he contended, to oblige everybody. As an editor he 
was ever ready to confer favors ; as a man, his heart and purse 
were within the reach of every applicant, for selfishness as well 
as egotism were unknown qualities to' a man of so generous a 
nature. Mr. Porter was probably the only editor on record who 
died without enemies. 

" Dr. Porter, a fine, portly man, whose cast of countenance 
reminded one of Martin Yan Buren, was a more thoroughly edu- 
cated man than his brother, and possessed every one of William's 
good qualities, besides a decidedly superior business capacity. In 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 89 

by-gone days he had been connected with ' The Corsair,' a liter- 
ary journal, published by him as co-editor with N". P. "Willis, but 
at the period of his demise, the Doctor was English professor in 
Coudert's French Academy, where, from the amiability of his 
disposition, he was regarded by his pupils with a feeling of ten- 
derness rarely bestowed upon knights of the birch and ferule. 
In the earlier portion of his life, 'the Doctor, 1 as he was familiar- 
ly, and distinctively entitled, after having graduated with honor 
at a medical institution, essayed practice of his profession, but 
found, although theoretically an enthusiast in the science of 
medicine, his nerves unable to withstand the contemplation of 
physical suffering. In consequence of his repudiation of surgery, 
he was compelled to devote his attention to belles lettres, and 
proved himself in all his productions, to be a superior critic, 
finished writer, and clever essayist. 

" George Porter, brother of Wm. T. and ' the Doctor,' pos- 
sessed fine literary acquirements, and by nature was more im- 
pulsive, or, if you please, more enterprising than any of the 
brothers. He never avoided, while attached to the ' Spirit,' any 
kind of severe labor, so that he could get ahead of his contempo- 
raries. In 1842 he left New York, and accepted a leading posi- 
tion on the ' Picayune.' For many long years he labored with 
most commendable industry, his peculiar abilities finding a 
natural field in the excitement of the Mexican war. His knowl- 
edge of Spanish was perfect, and his reports of the progress of 
the campaign gave the ' Picayune ' a deserved pre-eminence. 
George was educated for the law, and in the few years he prac- 
tised in this city, he secured the reputation of being one of the 
most promising young men at the bar. 

"Another member of the Porter family — Frank — was for 
many years a visitor at the ' lower office,' as William good- 
naturedly designated Monte verde's Sanctum. His exterior differed 
from the robust forms of his more celebrated brothers, being a 
man of comparatively small stature, but in warmth of disposition, 
and ingenuousness of character, was well worthy of their rela- 
tionship. He, too, was a man of letters, and the circle at 



90 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

' Frank's ' missed an esteemed companion, when lie was called 
to assume a situation on the New Orleans ' Picayune,' on which 
his brother George had been engaged. 

" A distinguished personage among the habitues of ' Frank's ' 
was a dapper gentleman, whose face bore a bushy pair of au- 
burn whiskers, and was garnished with a perpetual smile. Lord 
George Gordon, for we had ennobled him from admiration of his 
patrician qualities, was quite a Chesterfield among us, and his 
opinions on all matters, especially such as appertained to dress 
and manners, were to be regarded as pure gospel. George was 
the very pink of neatness ; not a speck of dust was allowed to 
contaminate his olive-cut-away, not a wrinkle to be observable 
upon his dainty waistcoat, while his blue neck-scarf, spotted with 
white dots, after the manner of a Belcher tie, encircled his neck 
with most faultless gracefulness. But particularly did the jaun- 
tiness of Lord George display itself in the style and manner of 
poising his hat on his head, as well as in the condescending 
patronizing elegance with which he removed it for purposes of 
salutation. Still the merits of Gordon were in nowise confined 
to the exterior man ; he had that within which passeth show, 
and was the Yorick of a thousand dinner parties, which he en- 
livened by a constant flow of wit, humor and anecdote, for 
Gordon was a walking encyclopedia of amusing information. 
The peculiarity of Gordon's wit, its appropriateness, was enhanced 
by the novel manner of his speech, and the earnestness of his 
gesture. Once called to the witness stand, the lawyer propounded 
the usual question as to his profession. 

" ' Profession — eh? ' musingly responded Lord George ; 'how 
we live ? Olden time, king's fool — nowadays, dine out.' And 
he gave a majestic wave of the hand. ' Then,' continued the 
lawyer derisively, as if annoyed at the retort, ' you live by your 
wits ? ' 

" ' Oh, dear, no ! ' coolly returned Gordon, ' not at all — not by 
my wits — want of 'em in others ? ' 

" Another worthy of the same school was Tom Oldfield, 
whilom Consul of the United States at Lyons, a position he re- 
signed, as he boasted, from the inability of the inhabitants to 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 91 

comprehend or appreciate liis jokes. Tom was emphatically a 
fellow of infinite jest, and although he in nowise aspired to the 
Beau Brummell qualities of Gordon, he possessed a striking ready 
fund of anecdotal humor, rendering him on convivial occasions a 
most agreeable companion. Poor Tom ! he had experienced his 
shares of the ups and downs of a mundane existence, which he 
bore with stoical composure. "While in London, with leisure 
time on his hands, he observed near his lodgings a broker's office, 
whose proprietor seemed to be of a nervously suspicious temper- 
ament. To worry the individual, Oldfield was wont to plant 
himself before the heap of gold in the money changer's window, 
and contemplate it, with mysterious earnestness, for hours to- 
gether. The movement he repeated diurnally, until the patience 
of the suspicious proprietor was wholly exhausted from inability 
to comprehend a motive for Tom's eccentric conduct ; conse- 
quently, one day he rushed from his shop door, seized upon his 
outside visitor, and threatened that if he caught *him again 
lounging around his window, he would give him into the custody 
of the Police. 

"'My dear fellow, don't,' pathetically responded Oldfield, 
' don't destroy my last consolation ; for, if I wern't to stop here 
every morning, I should lose all knowledge of the current coin 
of the realm.' 

" Still another proficient in conversational knowledge was 
Mr. Gwilt Mapelsden, Knight of the Order of St. Louis, and 
formerly a member of the Court of some Italian Grand Duke. 
He was induced to visit the country by the representations of a 
gentleman who died on his passage; and by this misfortune, 
Mapelsden was forced to resort to his pen for a livelihood. His 
knowledge of heraldry, and an affection for medigeval drawing, 
distinguished his publications, which were of a unique order in 
our literature. The ' Lays of the "Western World,' his ' Shakspeare 
Ballads,' and his pedigree of Washington, remain beautiful speci- 
mens of a revived taste for ancient illumination, which we could 
scarce expect from our Democratic community, to please whose 
vanity, as well as to earn an honest penny, Mr. Mapelsden manu- 
factured armorial bearings in unlimited abundance. 



92 1 IFF. OF WILLIAM T. PORTER, 

M Speaking of literature reminds us that * Frank's ' was hon- 
ored by visits from two distinguished living- poets, whenever they 

chanced to sojourn in our metropolis. Col. Albert Tike, of 
Arkansas, a noble-looking man, over six feet in height, a re- 
markable embodiment of our romantic ideal of a frontiersman — 
has not only composed some of the finest poems in our language, 
but has wielded his sword in the service ot^ his country during 
the Mexican campaign. Did we not dislike the bad taste of 
bestowing comparative titles, we would say that Col. Pike could 
be designated as the * Korner of America,' notwithstanding that 
the veteran author of 'Woodman. Spare that Tree.' lays claim 
to a similar honor. 

" The other disciple of the Muses is a tine-looking, elderly 
gentleman, reminding one strongly of that which an Englishman, 
rather than an American, is expected to be. as much from the 
style of his peculiar habiliments as the polite heartiness of his 
manner. Mr. Fits Greene Halleek. the contemporary of John 
Targee. and the other worthies of Tammany Hall his pen has 
locally immortalized, still survives the ravages of time, and con- 
verses as agreeably as in those days when Dickey Riker judged 
and Croaker sung, above the turmoil of mercantile life. 

" Another relict of a past age was Walter Livingston. * the 
last of the white cravats,' who adhered with pertinacity to his 
cambric neckcloth, ruffled shirt, buff waistcoat, and blue dress- 
coat, until such a fashion of costume grew to be an eccentricity 
even with his companions. An enthusiastic admirer of field 
sports. Mr. Livingston was among the last to desert the Jockey 
Club, and the appearance of this venerable gentleman on the 
Turf, until racing gave place to trotting, was ever hailed as a 
guarantee of the respectability of the ancient pastime. 

" As a striking contrast to this vestige of the ancient regime, 
could he observed the bustling apparition of Col. John Haggerty, 
who. in his time, might have been regarded as the Beau Nash 
of the day, so neat and trim his attire, so neatly fitting his velvet 
faced Chesterfield, so accurately turned over his wristbands a la 
(FOrsay. And how heartily the Colonel laughed at one of Gor- 
don's jokes, and then ventured upon a relation of his experience, 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. I 03 

1 up a relati : neighborhood of If-, 

the Count O'Haggerty, tu&t <fc ehambre to ' 

ee. 
' : Still another bean appeared to us in t Captain 

Marx, vulgarly and contemptuously nicknamed ' the Dai 
although he labored strenuously, in :" hw time, t 

the taste of the younger citizen*, and to impart that appreciation 
of appropriateness in costume and appointments which distin- 
guishes a gentleman of refinement. Poor Marx! despite many 
foibles, be was a man of cultivation and of merit, and 
lamented hy a large circle of admiring friends. The group Ls 
augmented by still another man of ton — Henry Allen "Wright, 
who has a tendency I the adoption of Canadian peculiari- 

: manner- ing possibly that British 

provincialisms may be applicable to revolted colonies, in which 
particular he differs from another patron of ' Frank's/ the dash- 
ing Frank Waddell, who, in lieu of being ' King o: /.red 
to the sovereignty of Newport, and to the principality | - 
toga. Poetic Frank believed in the criticism of good mar. 
and conceived that no public demonstration of festivity can 
regarded as eomme il fo.ut, unless the programme has been sub- 
mitted to his judicial inspection. 

:: A representative of Knickerbocker gentility has dropped in 
to inquire for a friend. Mr. Harry Hone, a sturo 
good-humored yeomanry, probably in search of one of his equally 
stalwart nephews, the Anthons. that the two may with 

dog and gun on the plains beyond Babylon on the Island. 

" The gentleman in fustian shooting jacket. panta- 

loon-, and preposterously thick brogan- g iter, 

'Frank Forrester,' on his way to his favorite shooting-ground 
near the Highlands of Xeversink, who has stopped in to lea 

irith • Garry, 1 the bar-tender, who, by the 
way, was a feature at 'Frank's,' as much from his personal affa- 
bility, as from the possession of a twin brother Peter, whose 
resemblance was as puzzling to the ' Barclay Guard ' as the two 
Dromios to the ancient Syracusans. Accompanying Herbert 
was pretty generally his co-editor. Thomas Picton. who, from 



94 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

having been originally his pupil, maintained ever afterwards a 
close friendship with his preceptor. 

" A gentleman of the same profession frequently made a flying 
visit about the hour of noon — a fine middle-aged Scotchman, Mr. 
A. D. Paterson, who, after having been long connected with the 
' Albion,' attempted to establish the ' Anglo- American,' as a rival 
sheet, which experiment alone failed by reason of his sudden 
demise. Mr. Paterson was an excellent scholar in belles-let- 
tres, and unfortunately left but a few fugitive writings behind 
him. 

" So likewise on an afternoon would drop in Lewis Gay lord 
Clark, the editor of ' Old Nick,' partially with the view to take 
a hand in a roll, at ' Graves ' over the way, and partially to pick 
up a few stray jokes for the next number of his magazine. These 
contributions were never withheld from him, as the ' Spirit ' and 
' Old Nick ' were regarded by all as the only genuine oracles of 
literature. 

"Accompanying Mr. Gaylord Clark, would probably be a 
slight-made gentleman, excessively amiable in personal appear- 
ance, and polished in his manners. Mr. Henry Inman, the por- 
trait painter, was a kind, generous-hearted man, emphatically 
one of nature's noblemen, as famed for his hospitable urbanity as 
for the invariable gentleness of his disposition. Although sorely 
oppressed with a pulmonic disease, which seriously interrupted 
his professional labors, Mr. Inman was ever a leader in our cheer- 
ful assemblies ; in truth, it appeared that the relaxation of an 
evening, passed in the companionship of men of talent, wit and 
humor, revived a spirit which otherwise would have morbidly 
succumbed beneath disease and the pressure of the toil ever 
attending his works of art. As a man, the loss of Mr. Inman 
was severely felt by sympathizing friends; as an artist, our 
country mourns a painter, leaving no successor and few imitators 
behind him, for his natural geniality, and affectionate admiration 
for children, rendered portraits of youth and innocence master- 
pieces of his skill. 

" Still another artist, in formidable beard and a slouch hat 
of gigantic dimensions, stands before us. It is not the person of 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 95 

Fra Diavolo, but of Charley Elliot, whose pencil has consigned 
more than one of ' Frank's ' celebrated patrons to immortality, 
as far as a very high standard of painting can confer immortality 
on the memories of human features. Elliot, in a mercantile 
method of speech, can be quoted as A No. 1, among his contem- 
poraries of the pallet, and among all ' good fellows ' he is surely 
to be honored as worthy of a ' bold stand ; ' therefore, say we, 
may his beard and shadow never be less. 

" An elderly gentleman, who occasionally penetrated into the 
sanctum, was for many years the inseparable companion of Mr. 
Inman on his piscatorial excursions among the trout streams of 
Long Island ; for the artist, like the immortal ' light of other 
days,' Phillips the vocalist, was a profound angler. This gentle- 
man, who, strange to say, has resided for half a century in one 
and the same ward in this city, is Mr. Fosdick, more familiarly 
styled ' Uncle Eichard,' who, after surviving most of his contem- 
poraries, has experienced the ingratitude of Kepublics in being 
defeated as Alderman in that very Ward in which he has passed 
of his life threescore years, less ten. In latter years, too, even 
the fishes appear determined to imitate the conduct of the poli- 
ticians, for although the venerable angler annually continues his 
expedition, the recusant finny tribe absolutely refuse to be taken 
by other stratagem than the vulgar expedient of silver hooks. 
Probably, however, the ' old inhabitant ' has outlived the race 
which peopled the streams he frequented in his youth. 

" An artist of a different school entered on the scene in the 
person of Bob Clark, the animal painter, who had finer natural 
genius for this particular line than Landseer or Cooper, and was 
for several years about the only delineator of horse flesh possessed 
by our metropolis. Bob was a generous, impulsive, yet good- 
natured child of Erin, being the son of Sir Jas. Clark, of Dublin, 
and the nephew of the celebrated Lady Morgan. Poor Bob ! 
he had but one vanity, and a harmless one at that — he imagined 
himself the best gentleman rider in America ; indeed, so pas- 
sionately fond was he of equestrian pastimes when at home, that 
almost the only clothing he brought hither was jockey or hunting 



96 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

" Prominently among those visitors addicted to the pastime 
of bowling, was a mysterious gentleman, Jas. Banks, a particular 
friend of Porter, who facetiously styled him ' Jim Baggs.' A. 
very powerful and handsomely framed man, he excelled in the 
exercise ; and on one occasion, it is said, rolled a string with Caleb 
McNulty, of "Washington, for $10,000. On another occasion he 
flourished before the public as the presumed robber of ' Pomeroy's 
trunk,' having been arrested on suspicion, as his trunk at the 
hotel was opened by accident, and found to contain $25,000 in 
gold, with regard to the possession of which he positively de- 
clined giving any explanation. The apprehension and suicide of 
the real robber relieved him from every imputation of criminality ; 
but to his dying day this eccentric personage declined gratifying 
public curiosity as to the source whence he derived the contents 
of his trunk, but which were in reality the proceeds of a heavy 
government contract for the transportation of the Southern 
Mail ; Uncle Sam then, as now, being in the habit of liquidating 
his liabilities in hard cash. 

" Conversing with his friend Gordon, would probably be seen 
the medical adviser of the crowd — Doctor Warrington, a skilful 
surgeon and polished gentleman, whose eccentricity evinces itself 
in tbe wearing of a white hat of a peculiar construction, which 
had doubtless been patented by the original inventor somewhere 
about the year one. The Doctor is at the present moment the 
popular surgeon on one of the California Steamers. 

" Then would come a short, dapper individual, who jumps 
about, somewhat after the manner one would be expected to 
assume if treading upon hot coals. This is C. H. Stanley, well 
known as a chess champion, and as an attache of Her Majesty's 
Consulate. Stanley is a capital companion, with only one fault 
— a passion for concocting the most villanous puns that could 
ever emanate from the human brain. 

"As a contrast to Stanley we have Isaiah Howe, the advocate 
in ordinary to every patron of ' Frank's ' who has the misfortyme 
to tumble into legal disputations, a matter-of-fact personage of 
more than ordinary talent, and a decided propensity to argue 
with somebody. At this moment he is laying down the law to a 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 97 

small contented looking gentleman, who glides about the apart- 
ment with that mysterious profundity of manner which has been 
chronicled as the attribute of the learned Linkum Fidelius — the 
' Little Man in Black,' of Manhattanese creation. In fact ' Mac ' 
— nobody gives him any other cognomen — is quite as whimsical, 
and slightly more unfathomable a character than that antique 
celebrity has been represented to us in the traditions of the 
Knickerbocker. Two local personages have entered the saloon 
— Harry Mabbett — a perfect epidemic on police mismanagement, 
who regulates conventions and committees, and, Joshua-like, 
commands the political Sun shining over at least two down-town 
wards to stand still, until he chooses to set the affairs of state in 
proper motion. The other is Mr. Peter Ohanfrau, brother to the 
theatrical representative of Mose, who, after having reaped a 
neat fortune by ornamenting the exterior of the -human face, con- 
templates the measure of their internal living, and has performed 
the mathematical feat of converting the almost decimal fraction 
of a man into a full blown Boniface. ' Measure for Measure ' has 
been, and now is, his motto ; whether the one measure be by 
the yard, or by the sections of a gallon, the other is inevitably 
by the standard of cash. 

" An Indian curiosity we have in the person of Adams, the 
Rocky Mountain trapper, who glories in an Indian chieftaincy, 
with an unpronounceable name to match, but is withal an excel- 
lent specimen of civilization, having deserted his rifle and taken 
to the ' long bow,' in the drawing of which he excels his red- 
skinned brethren. 

" Next we make the acquaintance of two enthusiastic cricket- 
ers — John Richards, whose hearty laugh and boisterous jocularity 
ring through the hall, while his younger companion, a tall, wiry, 
athletic gentleman, seems inclined to a pensive consideration of 
the important subject-matter under discussion. This latter is 
Delancy Barclay, son of the British Consul, who, after having 
attained the dignity of an engineer in our fire department, has 
turned his attention to the game of cricket, of which both ' the 
Governor ' and he are most enthusiastic supporters. In their 
conversation they are joined by a melancholy-looking personage, 
5 



98 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 

who delivers his opinions with the profundity of a Delphic oracle ; 
for as Hercules was known By his tread, so is 'Cuyp,' the famous 
bowler, recognized by the excessive gravity of his demeanor. 
Indeed, a casual observer would be induced, from his personal 
appearance, to believe him to be a Methodist parson in disguise, 
for he is seldom known to laugh even at Richard's jokes. 

" A knot of worthies in the corner embrace some distinguished 
men in their own particular sphere. Col. Costar, who has wit- 
nessed the changes of half a century, and remains himself as 
unchanged as the day he first perambulated Broadway; Col. 
Pride, gay, handsome, robust, just as if he had discovered the 
philosopher's stone, or at least swallowed a good dose of the 
elixir of life ; Lovell Purdy, as intent upon the encouragement 
of a racing stud as if he had grown legitimate heir to the ' Napo- 
leon of the Turf,' and Tom Battolle, wild, harum-scarum traveller 
in many lands, who has determined upon trying his luck at the 
first new enterprise which fortune, or common rumor, suggests 
to his notice. 

" Then again, ' Frank's ' is invaded by the apparition of a 
bevy of theatrical magnates — not men of extraordinary calibre, 
but artists of established merit, particularly those who are afflicted 
with a propensity for scribbling, and, find the ' Spirit ' an oppor- 
tune vent for their surcharged emotions, First, we have the 
poet laureate of the Mammoth Cod Association, author of that 
spiritual ditty, ' Don't think I'm going to Bail, or ' &c. ; ever- 
joyous John Brougham, inventor of the Greeley Hat and other 
divine institutions. After him may come Harry Plunkett, another 
disciple of Momus, who executes tragedy on the stage, and does 
up farce upon paper. At another period can be seen the ' mer- 
chant vocalist,' deep-toned Brough, who claims admission to the 
sporting circles by dint of agency for diamond-grained gunpow- 
der, and who has been induced to relinquish ' those scenes I 
view so charming,' to dispense in wholesale Parr's Life Pills and 
the 'Illustrated London News.' Between merchandise and 
minstrelsy he leads a life unequalled by the ' Monks of Old,' and 
he would be the happiest of mortals were not his nerves shattered 
by afflictions of gout, slang, and ' nothin' else.' But before him 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEB. 99 

stands another of his tormentors — ' Gemotice,' whilom literary- 
editor of an extinguished k Planet,' but, at that moment, musical 
savan of fhe ' Express,' who is intensely reading, from proof, a 
forthcoming critique upon the latest opera, each sentence of 
which gives the vocalist a twinge incomparably more severe than 
that produced by his hereditary gout. Among theatrical celebri- 
ties we moreover notice Harry Placide — a better ' Sir Harcourt ' 
off than on the stage — who has condescended to relinquish his 
parental government over ducks, chickens, and hens, and has 
suffered them to roam in wildness over his homestead on the 
' island,' that he may shine as a star for a week or two upon the 
boards of old Drury. Near him can be observed his brother 
Tom, undeniably the best low comedian on our stage, saving the 
incomparable Mitchell — whose years alone prevent his identifi- 
cation with his better- known relative. 

" Sometimes we are favored, in the summer season, with the 
presence of New Orleans manager, Mr. Place, likewise a man of 
portly dimensions, who visits our city to replenish his troupe, 
and to add to his store of equestrian utensils, for Place, breath- 
ing this atmosphere of ' Frank's ' and the ' Spirit,' is afflicted with 
a propensity towards equine worship. 

" Speaking of Southern notabilities, here we have Col. Thorpe, 
a stout, solid gentleman, better known as Tom Owen the Bee 
Hunter, whose personal appearance gives little token of the pos- 
session of that heartiness of humor which characterizes his 
South-western sketches, particularly ' The Big Bear of Arkansas,' 
and who is assuredly entitled to a front seat among the American 
humorists. On the contrary the Colonel, has the look of a solid 
planter, from whom we should as confidently expect the execu- 
tion of a joke, as to contemplate his brother, Colonel John S. 
Du Solle, performing on the corde volante. 

" Another literary celebrity of the South is George Wilkins 
Kendall, of the New Orleans ' Picayune,' who has ' seen the ele- 
phant ' and, during the hunt after whom, acquired some unpleas- 
ant reminiscences of the road to Santa Fe. He has ventured 
hitherward to astonish the nerves of a special party, bound to 
the Wilderness of the Empire State, where he expects to take 



100 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

down the deer, still tracking the sylvan groves of Hamilton 
County ; after this feat he will hie to Paris, to appreciate that 
improvement of the fandango, known to the senoritas of Mabille 
and the Parisian Prado, as the can can. 

" Moreover at times there could be encountered at ' Frank's ' 
pure specimens of the professional sporting race, doctors, train- 
ers, jockies and turfmen proper, especially during the week pre- 
ceding meetings over the Union Course. Then was a carnival 
with those who 'talked horse,' and many were the entries 
booked, and wagers laid for and against horse, time and field. 
But as these people were but of an ephemeral character, mere 
birds of passage, who visited the North for the instant, their 
acquaintance would in nowise amuse the general reader at our 
day. 

" Conspicuous, however, among turfmen, came Alfred Cono- 
ver, the Nestor of Long Island trainers, who was once charged 
with the studs of Commodore Stockton, Capt. Sutton, and the 
Stevenses, when these worthy gentlemen encouraged, in princely 
style, the most attractive of all field sports. But the memory of 
those halcyon days has been obliterated, and Alfred and his 
stables have probably shared the fate of oblivion, according to 
the destiny of racing. 

" We have attempted to carry our readers back with us to 
the palmy days at ' Frank's ' — many of the habitues of whom 
we have spoken, are already gathered to their fathers, many 
more are progressing thither rapidly with the stream of time. 
We have endeavored to preserve a faint reminiscence of the 
frequenters of a once famous locality, conceiving it a pleasant 
duty to treasure the memory of familiar faces, before all vanish 
before the irresistible touch of the future." 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 101 



CHAPTER Y. 

WAGNEE AND GEEY EAGLE. 

At no time had the Turf stood higher than in 
1839, and the races of that year were of unsurpassed 
interest; all the horses of note had their sanguine 
friends, and more than one was believed by his own 
especial partisans to be invincible. Of none was this 
more true than of those two gallant animals, (Wagner 
and Grey Eagle,) whose grandest exploit was incom- 
parably reported for the Turf Register in 1840, by 
Win. T. Porter. Herbert states that 



" Wagner in his five-year-old form, was already a tried horse, 
of proved speed, courage, and bottom, a distinguished winner, 
and even, in the high-flown aspirations of his owner, capable to 
compete with Boston. He was at least the equal of any other 
horse in America of his day ; and not long afterwards a distin- 
guished writer was found in the columns of the " Spirit of the 
Times ' to maintain, that up to this period, the great son of 
Timoleus had displayed no manifest superiority over him. 

" He had been in training continually since his third year ; 



102 LIFE OF .WILLIAM T. POSTER. 

in 1838 he had won three races of four-mile heats, and two of 
two-mile heats, beating Extio at New Orleans in 7.44 — 7.57— 
considered in those days all but the very best time. 

" He was a beautiful chestnut horse of fifteen and a half hands, 
with a white blaze on his face, and two white hind feet. He 
was got by Sir Charles — he by Sir Archy, dam by imp. Citizen, 
gd. by Commutation, g. gd. by imp. Daredevil — g. g. gd. by imp. 
Shark — g. g. g. gd. by imp. Fearnought — out of Maria West by 
Marion, her dam Ella Cramp, by imp. Citizen — gd. by Huntsman, 
g. gd. by Wildair, g. g. gd. by Fearnought, g. g. g. gd. by Janus, &c. 

" Marion was by Sir Archy, dam by Citizen, .gd. by Alder- 
man, g. gd. by Eobuck out of a Herod Mare. 

" Grey Eagle was in his fourth year, a magnificent horse 
nearly sixteen hands in height, said to be of almost perfect sym- 
metry, although scarcely equal in his quarters to his forehand, 
which is described as sumptuous. His color, as his name indi- 
cates, was a fine silvery gray. 

In his three-year-old form he had won two races of two-mile 
heats, in 3.41 — 3.43 — 3.48 — and 3.44, respectively, and was 
honestly believed by his owner, and by Kentuckian Sportsmen in 
general, to be equal* to any thing in America, both for speed 
and bottom ; although, in truth, this opinion must be regarded 
rather as surmise than as judgment, since his powers had not yet 
been sufficiently tested to justify such boundless confidence. It is 
but fair to add, in the wonderful races which are to be described, 
his performance was such as to prove that this confidence was not 
misplaced — was such, indeed, as to render it probable that, had 
he been ridden by a jockey competent to make the most of his 
powers, he might have been the winner in the first match — in 
which case he probably would not have been lost to the Turf, by 
the rash, and as I must consider it, cruel trial, of running a 
second four-mile race of scarcely paralleled severity within five 
days. 

" Grey Eagle was got by Woodpecker, he by imp. Dragon 
— dam, Irby's Daredevil mare, grandam by Old Wildair, g. gr. 
dam by Fearnought, etc., out of Ophelia by Wild Medley, gd. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 103 

Ophelia by Grey Diorned, g. gd. Primrose by Apollo, g. g. gd. by 
imp. Grandby, g. g. g. gd. by imp. Figure, &c. 

" Wild Medley was got by Old Medley, dam by "Wildair, g. d. 
by Tristram Shandy, g. gd. Sportley by imp. Janus, g. g. gd. Gen. 
Nelson's imp. Spanish Mare. There are no less than four Grey 
Diomeds and seven Apollos in Edgar's Stud Book, and it is not 
stated which of these horses are intended. They are all, how- 
ever, of good blood. 

" The description which here ensues^" continues Mr. Herbert, 
"has been considered by competent judges, to be the finest speci- 
men of turf- writing in the English language, and if the landari 
a laudato be fame in literary matters, we know no one who has 
derived more from a single essay than the winter of the narrative 
annexed." 

WAGNER AND GREY EAGLE'S RACES. 

The editor of this Magazine had the pleasure of 
attending the last meeting of the Louisville Jockey 
Club, and witnessing the two splendid races between 
Wagner and Grej Eagle. Those who have noticed 
the spirit with which every thing connected with 
breeding and racing is carried on at present in Ken- 
tucky, will hardly be surprised to hear that the late 
meeting has never been equalled in the excellence of 
the sport, or in the number and character of the visit- 
ors. Turfmen and other distinguished strangers from 
the neighboring States mustered in great force ; while 
the Kentuckians themselves turned oat in such num- 
bers that the hotels and lodging-houses literally over- 
flowed. A week of more delightful weather we have 
rarely known. The fields were large every day ; the 
horses ran well, " all the world and his wife " were 
on the course ; the pressure was forgotten, and all 



104 LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

appeared to enjoy themselves without stint or meas- 
ure. 

In addition to the brilliant report of " JV. of Ar- 
kansas" in the Spirit of the Times, the editor, since 
his return, has given his impressions of the meeting 
in the columns of that paper. Many readers of this 
magazine have expressed a desire that we should also 
give them a report of the two great races. * * * 

In compliance with the general desire of these, 
we proceed to give our own impressions of the two 
races, which have contributed in an eminent degree 
to give Wagner and Grey Eagle the high and endur- 
ing reputation they now enjoy. The races during the 
week were characterized by good fields, strong run- 
ning, fine weather, and an attendance unparalleled in 
numbers and respectability. The Oakland Course 
was in the finest possible order, the Stewards were in 
uniform and well mounted, and the arrangements of 
the proprietor, Col. Oliver, and of the Club, for the 
gratification and convenience of their guests, were not 
only in good taste but complete in all respects. 

We have not room to speak in this place of a 
variety of interesting circumstances connected with 
the meeting, but shall be pardoned for alluding to the 
unusual number of distinguished individuals present, 
and the blaze of beauty reflected from the Ladies' 
"Pavilion," on the occasion of the first race between 
the champions of Louisiana and Kentucky. The 
number of ladies in attendance was estimated at eight 
hundred, while nearly two thousand horsemen were 
assembled on the field. The stands, the fences, the 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. P0BTEE. 105 

trees, the tops of carriages, and every eminence over- 
looking the course, were crowded ; probably not less 
than ten thousand persons composed the assemblage, 
comprising not only several distinguished Senators, 
and nearly the entire Kentucky delegation in Con- 
gress, with their families, but all the elite of the 
beauty and fashion of the State. 

Among the earliest on the ground were the Hon. 
Judge Porter, of Louisiana, the distinguished Ex-Sen- 
ator, and Mr. Clay. His colleague in the Senate, Mr. 
Crittenden, soon followed, with Gen. Atkinson, Major 
Stewart, and Capt. Alexander, of the army ; Judge 
Woolley, Gov. Poindexter, Judge Rowan, the Hon. 
Messrs. Menifee, Allan, Letcher, Hardin, Graves, 
Hawes, etc. Among the guests of the Club, well 
known to the sporting world, we noticed J. S. Skin- 
ner, Esq., of Baltimore ; W. M. Anderson, Esq., of 
Ohio ; C. F. M. Poland, of Arkansas ; the Messrs. 
Kenner, Mr. Slidell, Mr. Parker, and Mr. Beasley, of 
Louisiana; Mr. McCargo, Mr. Beasley, and Capt. 
Bacon, of Yirginia ; Mr. Geo. Cheatham, of Tenn. ; 
Maj. Fleming, of Alabama, and a great number more 
whose names have escaped us. 

Good breeding forbids an enumeration of the dis- 
tinguished throng of belles. The young Miss just 
from the trammels of school, flush with joy and fears, 
the budding, blooming girl of sweet sixteen, the more 
stately and elegant full-blown woman, the dark-eyed 
Southerner, with her brown complexion and match- 
less form, the blue-eyed Northerner, with her dimpled 
cheek and fair and spotless beauty, were gathered 



106 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

here in one lustrous galaxy. The gentlemen were 
unmatched for variety ; the Bar, the Bench, the Sen- 
ate, and the Press, the Army and the Navy, and all 
the et ceteras that pleasure or curiosity attracted, were 
here represented. 

We are very much tempted to essay to describe a 
few of these radiant belles — had kind heaven made 
us a poet, like Prentice, we would immortalize them ; 
as we are only a proser, we can merely detail them. 
If any demand by what right we allude so pointedly 
to them, surely we may ask what right they have to 
be so beautiful ? There was one with a form of per- 
fect symmetry, and a countenance not only beautiful 
but entirely intellectual; like Halleck's Fanny, she 
may have been " younger once than she is now," but 
she is, and will ever be, " a thing to bless — all full of 
life and loveliness." With a purely Grecian bust and 
classic head, and with an eye as dark as the absence 
of all light, beaming with a lustre that eclipses all, 
her figure varied itself into every grace that can 
belong either to rest or motion. And there was a 
reigning belle, in the spring-time of her youth and 
beauty, with a face beaming with perfect happiness ; 
it was like a " star-lit lake curling its lips into ripples 
in some stream of delight, as the west-wind salutes 
them with its balmy breath, and disturbs their placid 
slumber." It was the realization of Byron's idea of 
"music breathing o'er the face." There comes a 
bride — and from the East, too. A peep at her face, 
almost hid by clustering braids of raven hair, dis- 
plays a belle of an Atlantic city, and ere we have 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 107 

time to ask her name, a lovely blonde sweeps by in a 
gay mantilla, changeable as the hues of evening, with 
a hat whiter than the wing of a dove, and as faultless 
as J^esera. It would puzzle a sphinx to divine the 
cause of her radiant smile. Walks she fancy free? 
Has Cupid's bolt passed her innocuous ? In the centre 
of the pavilion stand two rival belles, of a style of 
beauty so varied as to attract marked attention. The 
face and figure of one is rounded to the complete ful- 
ness of the mould of a Juno ; while the other, with 
the form of a sylph, and the eyes of an angel, is the 
impersonation of delicacy and loveliness. And there is 
a lady from the northernmost extremity of the Re- 
public, nearly allied to the Patrick Henry of the 
south-west, with eyes of the sweetest and most tran- 
quil blue " that ever reflected the serene heaven of a 
happy hearth — eyes to love, not wonder at — to adore 
and rely upon, not admire and tremble for." And 
then there was that beautiful belle from Scott County, 
and that brilliant wit from Lexington ; here, the pearl 
wreath strove to rival the fairer brow — the ruby, a 
rubier lip — the diamond, a brighter eye ; there the 
cornelian borrowed from the damask cheek a deeper 
hue ; the gossamer floated round a lighter form — the 
light plume nodded over a lighter heart. 

But what grace can flowers or sweeping plumes 
confer when the rich smile of beauty is parting her 
vermilion lips, and the breath of the morning, added 
to the excitement of the occasion, have given ripeness 
to her cheeks, and a fire to her eye, which, to our 
bachelor taste, would be worth a pilgrimage to Mecca 



108 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

to enjoy, as we did at that moment. Who can fail 
to detect the graceful being on our left, in a Parisian 
hat, lined with violets, whose soft liquid eye and 
raven braids render her the fairest gem in the bril- 
liant cluster of Western beauties ? The flashing eyes 
of a dark-browed matron from Missouri are roving 
restlessly over the nodding sea of heads beneath ; and 
the pensive smile of a fair lily, just home from school, 
has become absolutely radiant as she shakes back, 
from her open brow, a flood of glistering ringlets, and 
gazes down upon the multitude with the innocent 
gaze of a young-eyed seraph. But how shall our pen 
do homage to the daughters of Old Kentuck, whose 
striking Di Yernon beauty, with their dark, lustrous 
eyes and sable tresses, is only rivalled by the high 
culture bestowed upon their minds, and the attraction 
of those feminine accomplishments which " gild re- 
fined gold," and render them among the loveliest and 
most fascinating women within the circuit of the sun % 
The waters of Lethe must flow deep over our souls to 
banish the memory of the bouquets and gloves we 
lost and won upon that day ! The evening festivities 
that followed — the brilliant dance> the plaintive song 
that " lapt us in elysium," and she, too, the fairy 
masquerader, in the Suliote cap and bodice, lives she 
not last, as well as first, in our remembrance ? 

But our pages forbid a longer retrospection. The 
hospitalities and courtesies of the West, joined to the 
smile of her beauteous women, are indelibly impress- 
ed upon our hearts, and shall be freshly remembered 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 109 

when we pledge our warmest friends in the generous 
wine- cup. 

The occasion of this brilliant assembly was the 
stake for all ages, four-mile heats, which closed on 
the 1st of January, 1839, with ten subscribers at 
$2,000 each, half forfeit, as follows : 

1. Y. K Oliver and Miles W. Dickey, of Kentucky, named gr. c, 
Grey Eagle, by Woodpecker, oat of Ophelia, by Wild Medley, 
4 yrs. — Dress, Red, Blue and Orange. 

2. Wm. T. Ward, of Kentucky, named b. m. Mary Vaughan, by 
Waxy, out of Betty Blusten, by imp. Blusten, 5 yrs. — Dress, 
Blue and White. 

3. Willa Viley, of Kentucky, named ch. f. Queen Mary, by Ber- 
trand, dam by Brimmer, 4 yrs. — Dress, White and Green. 

4. Geo. N". Sanders and Lewis Sanders, Jr., of Kentucky, named 
b. c. Occident, by Bertrand, out of Diamond, by Turpin's 
Florizel, 4 yrs. — Dress, White. 

5. Siduey Burbridge, of Kentucky, named b. c. Tarlton, by 
Woodpecker, dam by Robin Gray, 5 yrs. — Dress, not de- 
clared. 

6. Jas. C. Bradley and H. B, Steel, of Kentucky, named ch. c. 
HawTc-Eye^ by Sir Lovell, out of Pressure's dam, by Jenkins' 
Sir William, 4 yrs.-^Dress, Orange and Black. 

7. Archie Cheatham, of Virginia, named ch. h. Billy Townes, by 
imp. Fylde, dam by Virginian, 5 yrs. — Dress, Purple and 
Red. 

8. James S. Garrison, of Louisiana, named ch. h. Wagner, by 
Sir Charles, out of Maria West, by Marion, 5 yrs. — Dress, Red 
and Red. 

9. Wm. Wynn, of Virginia, named b. c. Picton, by imp. Luz- 
borough, out of Isabella, by Sir Archy, 5 yrs.— Dress, not 
declared. 

10. Wm. Buford, Jr., of Kentucky, named ch. f. Musidora, by 
Medoc, dam by Kosciusko, 4 yrs.- 



110 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

The race came off on Monday, the 30th of Sep- 
tember. Of the ten nominations, four only came to 
the post — Wagner, Grey Eagle, Queen Mary, and 
Hawk-Eye ; of the other six, Tarlton and Musidora 
had given way in training ; Picton was in Tennessee, 
and complaining; Occident's trials would not justify 
his starting ; Billy Townes and Mary Yaughan were 
on the ground, but not up to the mark in condition. 
From the clay the stake closed, the betting had been 
going on with spirit in different sections of the 
country, increasing daily in amount as the race drew 
nigh. From the first, Wagner was decidedly the 
favorite ; and when it became reduced almost to a 
certainty that not above six would start, the betting 
was about 50 to 75 on him vs. the field. For many 
months previous to the race, and before it was known 
how many would start, odds were offered, from ]STew 
York to New Orleans, on Wagner and Billy Townes 
against the field. Immense sums were laid out at 
odds, in Kentucky, on Grey Eagle's winning the first 
heat, and in many instances he was backed against 
Wagner for the race. In consequence of the un- 
limited confidence felt by the Kentuckians in the 
" foot " of Grey Eagle, it was resolved by the Wagner 
party not to run for the first heat, unless circum- 
stances should occur which might render it an easy 
thing for their horse. But the day before the race a 
commission from New Orleans was received, offering 
a large sum on Wagner's beating the gray the first 
heat, which induced them to change this determina- 
tion ; indeed, the inducement to run for it was a 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. Ill 

pretty substantial one, for they could lose nothing, 
and might win several thousands — we do not feel at 
liberty to say how many, or who were the parties ; it 
is enough that they were keen, and also successful. 
Two days before the race, Mr. McCargo gave Billy 
Townes a trial with Missouri and Texana, and though 
the result was entirely satisfactory, so far as his action 
was concerned, he soon after cramped to such a de- 
gree, that it was at once declared that he could not 
be started. Mary Yaughan, we believe, was plated 
for the race, but not being quite up to the mark, she 
also paid forfeit. On the morning of the race, it 
being understood pretty thoroughly that Wagner, 
Grey Eagle, Queen Mary, and Hawk-Eye only would 
start out of the ten nominations, "business" com- 
menced in earnest, Wagner being freely offered 
against the field, and as freely taken, while Grey 
Eaffle was backed at small odds for the first heat. 
The " call " for the horses was sounded at a quarter 
to one o'clock, and soon after all eyes were directed 
toward a motley group approaching from Mr. Garri- 
son's stable ; " with stately step and slow," the proud 
champion of Louisiana made his appearance. He 
was directly stripped, and a finer exhibition of the 
perfection to which the trainer's art can be carried 
we have rarely seen. His coat and eye were alike 
brilliant — Wagner is a light gold chestnut, with a 
roan stripe on the right side of his face, and white 
hind feet — about fifteen hands and a half high. His 
head is singularly small, clean and bony, set on a 
light but rather long neck ; forehanded, he resembles 



112 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POSTER. 

the pictures of his sire, and in his carriage is said to 
resemble him. His shoulder is immensely strong, 
running very well back into a good middle-piece, 
which is well ribbed home. One of the finest points 
about him is his great depth of chest ; few horses can 
measure with him from the point of his shoulder to 
the brisket. His arms are heavily muscled, like 
Mingo's, with the tendons standing out in bold re- 
lief. He has uncommonly strong and wide hips, a 
good loin, remarkably fine stifles and thighs, with as 
fine hocks and legs as ever stood under a horse. 
Wagner has been in training ever since his Three-year 
old, and has travelled over three thousand miles, with- 
out three weeks' rest this season ! Mr. Garrison com- 
menced galloping him just four weeks previous to 
this race; he had not even been turned loose in a 
paddock. 

A murmur, which was soon lost in a suppressed 
cheer at the head of the quarter stretch, announced 
to the multitude about the stand the approach of 
Grey Eagle ; as he came up in front of the stand, his 
lofty carriage and flashing eye elicited a burst of ap- 
plause, which told better than words can express the 
intense and ardent aspirations felt in his success, 
by every son and daughter of Kentucky. Clinton, 
his trainer, immediately stripped off his sheet and 
hood, and a finer specimen of the high-mettled racer 
was never exhibited. He was in condition to run for 
a man's life — a magnificent gray, nearly sixteen 
hands high, with the step of a gazelle and the strength 
of a Bucephalus. Mr. Burbridge had told us that of 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 113 

one thing lie was confident — his horse might want 
foot, but of his game he was certain ; the correctness 
of his judgment the sequel will show. In the hands 
of Clinton, who, by the by, is a Kentuckian, not above 
seven and twenty years of age, Grey Eagle had never 
lost a heat ; the previous October, he won a two-mile 
sweepstakes, over this course, in 3.41 — 3.43f ; and a 
week afterwards repeated the race in 3.48 — 3.44. 
His form indicates more power of endurance than 
any horse we ever saw in Kentucky ; from the girth 
forward, his shape and make could hardly be im- 
proved, if he merely had the delicate, finely tapered 
ears of a Sir Charles or a "Wild Bill. Standing be- 
hind him, his quarters display a fine development of 
muscle, but many would call them light in proportion 
to his size and forehead ; in this respect he closely 
resembles Priam. His coupling, thigh and stifle are 
unexceptionably good, and his hocks come well down 
to the ground, giving him great length from this 
point to that of the whirlbone. His legs are clean, 
broad and flat, with the ham-strings and leaders 
beautifully developed — no son of Whip ever had a 
finer set of limbs under him. 

Two chestnuts next challenged the public's atten- 
tion ; the first was Queen Mary, a very blood-like 
looking filly, with white hind feet, that a single glance 
would have shown to be a daughter of Bertrand. 
She measures about 15|- hands, is well put up, and 
when running in good form, must be a dangerous 
lady to trifle with. Hawk-Eye, as we remember him, 
is a heavy moulded colt, of nearly 15J hands, with a 



114: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

star and white fore feet ; without the foot or the 
endurance of his half-brother, Pressure, he presents 
to the eye no such game appearance. We trust he 
was not himself on this occasion, or we should wish 
" ne'er to look upon his like again," for he cut a 
very sorry figure in this party. Both himself and 
the Bertrand filly have been winners, and the latter 
has ever been looked upon as a performer of great 
promise. 

At half-past one o'clock, the jockeys having re- 
ceived their orders from the judges, the order was 
given to " clear the course." Oato, called Kate, in a 
richly-embroidered scarlet dress, was put upon Wag- 
ner ; he is a capital jockey, and rode nearly up to his 
weight, 110 pounds. The rider engaged for Grey 
Eagle lost the confidence of his owners just before 
the race, and at the eleventh hour they were obliged 
to hunt up another. Stephen Welch, a three-year-old 
rider, was selected, though obliged to carry thirteen 
pounds dead weight in shot-pouches on his saddle ! 
The friends of Grey Eagle, however, had entire confi- 
dence in his honesty ; and it is clear that he did his 
best, though, weighing, as he did, but eighty-two 
pounds, he had neither the strength nor stamina to 
hold and control a powerful, fiery horse like Grey 
Eagle. He rode superbJy for a lad of his years, 
while Oato's exhibition of skill and judgment would 
have done credit to Gil. Patrick. The horses took 
their places in accordance with the precedence of their 
nomination for the stake, Grey Eagle having the 
inside track, Queen Mary second, Hawk-Eye third, 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 115 

and "Wagner the outside. Just at this moment Mr. 
Ward, the President of the Club, dislodged the band 
from their seats over the judges' stand, and Mr. Clay, 
Judge Porter, Judge Rowan, our friend Col. Whet- 
stone, of the Devil's Fork of the Little Red, and the 
writer of this article, with two or three other gentle- 
men, were invited to occupy them, by which we all 
obtained a fine view, not only of the race, but — of the 
ladies in the stands opposite. 



The Race. 

All being in motion and nearly in line, the Presi- 
dent gave the word " Go ! " and tapped the drum. 
Grey Eagle was the last off, while Wagner went away 
like a quarter-horse, with Queen Mary well up second ; 
they were taken in hand at once, which allowed 
Hawk-Eye to take the place of the Queen on the back 
stretch, and at the three-quarter mile-post, Wagner 
allowed him to take the track. Hawk-Eye led home 
to the stand at a moderate place, Wagner secondhand 
Queen Mary third ; both of them were pulling to 
Grey Eagle, at whose head Stephen was tugging with 
might and main. Hawk-Eye carried on the running 
for about half a mile further, until Gooding bid Cato 
" Go along." The pace mended at once ; Wagner 
went up to Hawk-Eye, and might have cut him down 
in half a dozen strides, but the Queen was still lying 
back, and Grey Eagle had not yet made a stroke. 
Wagner came first to stand, and at the turn, Cato hav- 
ing held up his whip as a signal to the crowd of rub- 



116 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 

bers and boys on Garrison's stable, that " the old 
sorrel stud " was going just right, they gave him a 
slight cheer, at which "Wagner broke loose, and made 
a spread-eagle of the field in " no time." The other 
jocks were not a little startled at this demonstration of 
Wagner's speed, and each called upon his nag, so that, 
opposite the Oakland House, near the three-quarter 
mile post, the field closed. Stephen here let out the 
phenomenon he so gracefully bestrode, and, like twin 
bullets, the gallant gray and Wagner came out of the 
melee. At the head of the quarter-stretch, Stephen 
was told to " pull him steady," so that, before Wagner 
leached the stand, Queen Mary had changed places 
with Grey Eagle, notwithstanding her saddle had 
slipped on her withers. Hawk-Eye was already in 
difficulty, and for him the pace was getting " no better 
very fast." Grey Eagle set to work in earnest on 
entering the back stretch, first out-footing the Queen 
and then challenging Wagner. From the Oakland 
House to the head of the quarter-stretch, the ground 
is descending, and from thence up the straight run to 
the stand, a distance of perhaps six hundred yards, 
it is ascending. At the half-mile post Cato called 
upon Wagner, and the critical moment having ar- 
rived, Stephen collared him with the gray, on the 
outside. For three hundred yards the pace was tre- 
mendous ; Grey Eagle once got his head and neck in 
front, and a tremendous shout was sent up ; but 
Wagner threw him off so far in going round the last 
turn, that, half-way up the stretch, Mr. Burbridge 
ordered him to be pulled up, and Wagner won clev- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 117 

erly, Queen Mary dropping just within her distance, 
150 yards. Hawk-Eye was nowhere. Time, 7.48. 

The disappointment and mortification were so 
great, that for the first twenty minutes after the heat, 
Queen Mary was freely backed against Grey Eagle, 
while so far as Wagner was concerned, it was con- 
sidered " a dead open and shut." Before the forty- 
five had elapsed, however, a re-action took place in 
favor of Grey Eagle. Not a KentucTcian on the 
ground laid out a dollar on Wagner ! From the 
first, the very few individuals who were disposed to 
back him on account of his blood, his form, his per- 
formances, and his condition, had not staked a dollar ; 
their judgment prompted them to back the Southern 
Champion, but they would not bet against Kentucky ! 
Talk of State pride in South Carolina ! Why, the 
Kentuckians have more of it than the citizens of all 
the States in the Confederacy added together. They 
not only believe Kentucky to be the Eden of the 
world and the garden of the Union, but their own 
favorite county to be the asparagus-bed of the State ! 
And they have good reason ; Kentucky is a glorious 
State. The talent and chivalry of her sons are in 
keeping with the intelligence and peerless beauty of 
her daughters, and well may they be proud of her 
and of each other. But to the horses. 

All cooled off well, but more especially Grey 
Eagle, who appeared not to mind the run a jot. They 
got, as Clinton remarked, " a capital scrape out of 
him," and he was " as fine as silk " — in good order 
for a bruising heat. He extended himself with a 



118 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

degree of ease in the second heat, and changed his 
action in a manner that convinced us that the sweat 
had relieved him. Wagner, who resembles Boston in 
many other respects, showed all that placidity and 
calmness of look and motion which characterizes " the 
old White-nose." Great odds were offered on him 
for the race, but small amounts only were staked. 
Grey Eagle's noble bearing and game-cock look, as 
he came up to the contest in a second heat for the 
meed of honor and applause, was the theme of uni- 
versal admiration ; so much so, indeed, that a cargo of 
laces, gloves, bijouterie, etc., must have been required 
to pay the wagers made in the Ladies' Pavilion. 

Second Heat. — The tap of the drum sent them 
away with a beautiful start, Wagner leading off with 
a steady, business-like stride, while Grey Eagle, as 
full of game as of beauty, waited upon him close up. 
It was instantly evident that Mr. Burbridge had 
changed his tactics ; the moment Stephen got Grey 
Eagle into straight work on the back side, he made 
play for the track, and after a terrific burst of speed 
for one hundred and fifty yards, he came in front ; 
keeping up his stroke, he soon after made a gap of four 
lengths, and though Wagner drew upon him a little 
in coming up the rising ground towards the stand, 
yet he passed it far enough in advance to warrant the 
warm and hearty plaudits of his friends. As if in- 
spirited by the cheers of the crowd, and the tokens 
of unalloyed gratification exhibited by the galaxy of 
radiant beauty in the stands, Grey Eagle kept up 
bis murderous rate throughout the entire second mile ; 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 119 

Wagner lay up close, and there was no faltering, no 
flinching, no giving back, on the part of either. The 
stride was over twenty-two feet, perfectly steady, 
strong and regular, with no dwelling, no floundering, 
no laboring. Grey Eagle made the running to be- 
yond the half-mile post on the third mile, and the 
pace seemed too good to last, but there were " links " 
yet to be " let out." From this point the two cracks 
made a match of it, in which Queen Mary had as 
little apparent concern as if out of the race. Near 
the Oakland House, "Wagner set to work to do or die. 
"Rowel him up ! " shouted his owner to Cato ; while 
Garrison, at the head of the quarter-stretch, was wav- 
ing his hat to him to come on ! The rally that ensued 
down the descent to the turn was desperate, but 
Wagner could not gain an inch ; as they swung round 
into the quarter-stretch, they were lapped ; " spur 
your proud coursers hard, and ride in blood ! " were 
the orders on this, as they are described to have been 
on Bosworth " field." Both horses got a taste of steel 
and catgut as they came up the ascent, and on casting 
our eye along the cord extending across the course 
from the judges' to the Club stands, Grey Eagle was 
the first under it by a head and shoulders ; at the turn 
Stephen manoeuvred so as to press Wagner on the 
outside, and soon after drew out clear in front, looking 
so much like a winner, that the crowd, unable to re- 
press an irresistible impulse, sent up a cheer that 
made the welkin ring for miles around. The group on 
Wagner's stable again bid him " go on ! " but Cato, 
" calm as a summer's morning," was quietly biding 



120 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

his time ; lie seemed to feel tliat Patience has won 
more dollars than Haste has coppers, and that there 
was but a solitary chance of winning the race ont of 
the fire. Fully aware of the indomitable game of the 
nonpareil under him, he thought if he could bottle 
him up for a few hundred yards, there was still another 
run to be got out of him. He accordingly took a 
bracing pull on his horse, and though it was " go 
along " every inch, "Wagner recovered his wind so as 
to come again at the head of the quarter-stretch. 
Stephen long ere this had become so exhausted as 
to be unable to give Grey Eagle the support he 
required ; he rode wide, swerving considerably from 
a straight line, and was frequently all abroad in his 
seat. From the Oakland House home, it was a terri- 
ble race ! By the most extraordinary exertions Wag- 
ner got up neck and neck with " the gallant gray," 
as they swung round the turn into the quarter-stretch. 
The feelings of the assembled thousands were wrought 
up to a pitch absolutely painful — silence the most 
profound reigned over that vast assembly, as these 
noble animals sped on as if life and death called forth 
their utmost energies. Both jockeys had their whip- 
hands at work, and at every stroke, each spur, with a 
desperate stab, was buried to the rowel-head. Grey 
Eagle, for the first hundred yards, was clearly gain- 
ing ; but in another instant Wagner was even with 
him. Both were out and doing their best. It was 
anybody's race yet ! Now Wagner, now Grey 
Eagle, has the advantage. It will be a dead heat ! 
" See ! Grey Eagle's got him ! " " No, Wagner's 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 121 

ahead ! " A moment ensues — the people shont — 
hearts throb — ladies faint — a thrill of emotion, and 
the race is over ! Wagner wins by a neck, in 7.44, 
the best race ever ran south of the Potomac ; while 
Kentucky's gallant champion demonstrates his claim 
to that proud title, by a performance which throws 
into the shade the most brilliant ever made in his 
native State. 

Summary : 

Monday, Sept. 30, 1839. — Sweepstakes for all ages, 3 yr. olds, 
carrying 86 lbs.— 4, 100 — 5, 110—6, 118—7 and upwards, 
124 lbs. ; mares and geldings allowed 3 lbs. Ten subscribers 
at $2,000 each, h. ft., to which the proprietors added the 
receipts of the stands. Four mile heats. 

James S. Garrison's and John Campbell's ch. h. Wagner, by Sir 
Charles, out of Maria "West, by Marion, 5 yrs. Cato, 1 — 1 

Oliver & Dickey's and A. L. Shotwell's gr. c. Grey Eagle, by 
"Woodpecker, out of Ophelia, by "Wild Medley, 
4 yrs Stephen Welch, 2—2 

Capt. "Willa Viley's ch. f. Queen Mary, by Bertrand, dam by 
Brimmer, 4 yrs 3 — 3 

Bradley & Steel's ch. c. Hawk-Eye, by Sir Lovell, out of Press- 
ure's dam, by Jenkin's Sir William, 4 yrs. . . dist. 
Time, 7.48—7.44. 

To say that Wagner was better managed and bet- 
ter jockeyed in this race than Grey Eagle, is to express 
the opinion of every unprejudiced individual who 
had the pleasure of witnessing it. What might have 
been the result of the race, we cannot pretend to say, 
but we assert with perfect confidence our belief, that 
with Gil. Patrick on his back, Grey Eagle would have 
6 



122 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POSTER. 

won the second heat. People differ in opinion, luckily, 
and were it not so, we should be in a mass. Had the 
managers of Grey Eagle been content to bide their 
time, another tale might have been told. " "Wait and 
win " carries off more purses than " Take the track 
and keep it." Grey Eagle could out-foot Wagner in 
a brush of one hundred and fifty yards — he clearly 
demonstrated that fact half a dozen times in the course 
of the week ; but in a run of five or six hundred 
yards, Wagner could beat him about the same distance. 
The two horses were so nearly matched, that good 
generalship and good riding did the business. Instead 
of allowing him to go forward and cut out the work, 
Grey Eagle should have been laid quietly behind, 
with a steady, bracing pull, until within the distance 
stand, and then pulled out, and made to win if he 
could. That was his only chance ; tiring down Wag- 
ner is like tiring down a locomotive. 

We must here break off, but not without remark- 
ing, that after being weighed, Cato was put again on 
Wagner, and with the stakes in his hand — $14,000 ! — 
he promenaded in front of the stand, preceded by a 
band of music, playing " Old Yirgiimy never tire." 
In bringing our report of this memorable race to a 
conclusion, we must not neglect to record the gratify- 
ing fact, that notwithstanding the immense throng 
of spectators on the ground, and the peculiar excite- 
ment of the occasion, not a solitary circumstance 
occurred calculated for a moment to interrupt the 
harmony and general good feeling which prevailed 
on all hands. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 123 

We have not room to give the details of the run- 
ning on the intermediate days of the meeting. Suffice 
it to say, that the fine Medoc filly Cub won the Post 
stake for 3 years olds, in 3.45J — 3.44 ; that the wood- 
pecker colt Ralph won the three-mile purse cleverly, 
in 5.50 each heat ; that the Eclipse mare Missouri 
won the Oakland plate, two-mile heats, in 3.50 — 3.44 
— 3.50 ; and that several other exhibitions of beauty, 
game and speed were given during the week. The 
first race between Wagner and Grey Eagle came off 
on Monday; on Saturday they again came out for 
the Jockey Club purse of $1,500, four-mile heats. 
Throughout the week the weather had been delightful, 
and the attendance good enough to realize $15,000 to 
the spirited proprietor ; but on this day there was an 
immense gathering from far and near, and the sun 
never shone out on a more lovely morning. The 
attraction, it must be confessed, could not have been 
surpassed — Wagner and Grey Eagle were again to 
come together! After their race on Monday, both 
parties immediately interested, were willing to draw 
off their forces, and enjoy an honorable armistice until 
next spring ; but the interference and misrepresentation 
of sanguine friends ultimately broke off the truce exist- 
ing between them, and the high contracting parties set 
about prosecuting the war with greater zeal and energy 
than ever. Some one wrote from Louisville, directly 
after the race, to the effect that Wagner had declined 
to meet Grey Eagle in a match for $10,000, four-mile 
heats ; which letter made its appearance in the columns 
of a Lexington journal. This statement the friends 



124: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

of Grey Eagle did not deny, though it was made 
without their authority ; and in consequence Wagner 
was forced to notice it. In an article " by authority," 
from the pen of a distinguished correspondent of the 
" Spirit of the Times," published in the " Louisville 
Journal " on the 5th October, the writer remarked 
to the following effect : 

" Wagner and Grey Eagle. — The refutation of his horse is 
dear to a turf-man, and it is his duty to shield and defend it as 
he would his own honor. The contest between "Wagner and 
Grey Eagle will long be remembered by those who witnessed it. 
Wagner's honors were nobly won ; he earned them in a field where 
every inch of ground was closely contested ; and any one who 
would attempt to pluck a laurel from his brow, by falsehood or 
misrepresentation, deserves the scorn of every honorable man. 

" The writer of this has been induced to make these remarks, 
from the fact that a letter has been published in a Lexington 
paper, written from Louisville, containing a statement that Grey 
Eagle had challenged "Wagner for $10,000, and the latter had 
declined the contest. This statement is positively false, and the 
owners of Grey Eagle will cheerfully bear testimony to the truth 
of the assertion. The facts of the case are these : Wagner had 
gained a victory over Grey Eagle — a victory in which even the 
defeated party gained the brightest laurels, and won for himself 
imperishable fame. Hence Wagner's friends prized his victory 
the more highly ; and, with that courtesy towards the friends of 
Grey Eagle which is ever due from the victor to the vanquished, 
they would have been willing to leave Kentucky, perfectly satis- 
fied with his performance. He is willing to run him against 
Grey Eagle, or any other horse in the United States, four-mile 
heats, for $10,000, or any amount above that sum. This offer is 
made with no disposition to detract from the reputation of the 
game and gallant Grey Eagle, but solely on account of justice to 
Wagner, who has been placed in a situation by some of the friends 
of Grey Eagle that leaves no alternative." 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 125 

The article just quoted made its appearance in the 
" Journal " on the morning of the second race, which 
we are about to describe ; but the friends of Grey Eagle 
were prepared to see it. If we are not very much 
mistaken, it was read to its owner, as it was to several 
of his friends, two days before its publication, but 
was delayed in the hope that Grey Eagle's friends 
would contradict the statement alluded to. In the 
mean time both horses were got in order, to make 
another race. We saw both immediately after their 
first race, and on the following morning ; both recov- 
ered well, and Grey Eagle especially so, exhibiting 
very little stiffness or soreness. They improved from 
that time up to Saturday morning, and we never saw 
two high-mettled racers in finer condition than they 
were when stripped to run their second race. 

In anticipation of a race, which, for severity and in- 
terest, would throw the first into the shade, both parties 
were wide awake to secure every honorable advantage 
within their reach. Wagner's rider, Cato, had become 
free about the time of the first race ; if he rode the 
second as well as he did the first, many are the odd 
twenties and fifties he was promised. Stephen Welch, 
Grey Eagle's jockey in his first race, weighing but 82 
pounds, the managers of the horse endeavored to find 
a rider nearer up to his proper weight, 100 pounds. 
The only one on the ground preferable to their own, was 
Mr. McCargo's Archer, a very capital rider, with a 
good seat, a steady hand and a cool head. Mr. 
McCargo having no interest whatever in the race, at 
once placed Archer's services at the disposal of Grey 



126 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 

Eagle's friends ; but as his doing so might possibly 
place him in a position of great delicacy and embar- 
rassment, at his own request they relieved him from 
it, and concluded to put up Stephen Welch again, 
whose only fault was that there was not enough of 
him ! 

After the race on Monday, the topic of conversa- 
tion in every circle was the prospect of a second one 
between the rival champions. The Wagner party 
were not anxious for a race, but they would not avoid 
one ; their horse had not only realized their expecta- 
tions, but had exceeded their most sanguine hopes, and 
they were prepared to back him to " the size of their 
pile." And well did that noble son of a worthy sire 
justify the high opinion of his friends — a small circle, 
it is true, but they were staunch and firm ; and when 
it came to " putting up the mopasses," there were 
enough of them to " suit customers," and no mis- 
take ! The friends of Grey Eagle had every reason 
to be proud of the first performance of their horse, 
and they were so. He was the first discoverer of 
" the Forties " in a four-mile race, ever bred in Ken- 
tucky, and he had explored the degrees of pace to 
the latitude of 44 below the equator ! All this he 
had done as an untried four-year old, and if -his friends 
backed him with less confidence now, it was on ac- 
count of the severe race he had made five days pre- 
vious. He was in fine health, and his look and action 
indicated all the spirit and courage of a game-cock, 
but it was thought physically impossible for him to 
make such another race as his first in the same week. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 127 

The betting consequently settled down at two and three 
to one on "Wagner. 

It will naturally be supposed that the rumor of a 
second four-mile race between these two cracks, 
attracted an immense crowd of spectators. Many 
persons came down from Cincinnati, while the citizens 
of Lexington, Frankfort, Georgetown and the circle 
of towns for fifty miles about Louisville, turned out 
in great numbers. Again the city was crowded, and 
on the morning of the race every carriage and horse in 
town was in requisition. Many were glad to get out 
to the course and call it " riding," when jolting along 
in a bone-setter, compared with which riding on a 
white-oak rail would be fun ! Again the ladies turned 
out en masse, to grace the scene with their radiant 
beauty, and " lend enchantment to the view " of the 
race — and of themselves. 

The jockeys having received their instructions 
from the judges, " mounted in hot haste," Cato on 
"Wagner, and Stephen Welch on Grey Eagle. The 
third entry was Messrs. Yiley & Ward's Emily John- 
son — own sister to Singleton, and half-sister to Mistle- 
toe — a four-year old bay filly by Bertrand, out of 
Black-eyed Susan. She was not in prime fit, and 
could not, therefore, live in such a crowd. 



THE KACE. 

At the word " Go," "Wagner went off with the 
lead at about three parts speed, Emily lying second, 
and all three under a strong pull. Grey Eagle's long, 



128 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

steady stride, after getting into straight work going 
down the back stretch, soon brought him np with 
the field ; and opposite the Oakland House — abont 
300 yards beyond the half-mile post — the three were 
lapped. The pace now improved ; Grey Eagle drew 
ont at the last turn, but Wagner having the inside, 
and beginning to get warm, made sharp running up 
the stretch to the stand, and on the next turn came 
out clear in front. Down the back stretch they each 
kept up a good racing stroke, but at the Oakland 
House, Grey Eagle increased his stride and locked 
Wagner ; as neither was yet called upon, a very fair 
view was had of their relative rate of going ; Grey 
Eagle led down to the head of the stretch and up to 
the stand by half a length, and immediately after 
came in front. He carried on the running two lengths 
in advance to near the termination of the mile, when 
Wagner got a hint to extend himself; without lapping 
him, Wagner waited upon him to close up, and oppo- 
site the Oakland House made his run ; the rally that 
ensued was a very brilliant affair, but Grey Eagle 
out-footed him in one hundred yards, and drew out 
clear amidst tremendous cheers from all parts of the 
course. The instant Wagner declined, Emily took his 
place, lapping the Grey as they swung round the turn. 
But Wagner had yet another run left, and they had 
no sooner got into the quarter-stretch than Cato set to 
work with him. Grey Eagle had been able to pull 
to Emily, and accordingly, when Wagner by an extra- 
ordinary effort reached him half-way up the stretch, 
he was able to outfoot him a second time, and came 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 129 

away home a gallant winner by nearly a length, 
Emily having the second place, amidst the waving 
of hats and handkerchiefs, and tumultuous cheers, 
that would well-nigh have drowned the roar of Nia- 
gara ! The first mile was run in 2.05 — the second in 
1.55 — the third in 1.56 — the fourth in 1.55 ; making 
the time of the heat 7.51. 

The heartfelt gratification and rapture exhibited 
at the close of the heat by the assembled thousands, 
knew no bounds. Kentucky's most distinguished 
sons, and her loveliest daughters, felt alike interested, 
and Grey Eagle's success was enjoyed as if each was 
personally concerned. The odds, from being two and 
three to one in favor of Wagner, now changed, and 
Grey Eagle had the call at four to three. Consider- 
able sums were staked, as Garrison declared " the old 
sorrel stud " had sulked, but would show his hand 
the next heat. The fact was, Grey Eagle for the 
first time had been properly managed ; instead of 
running the whole last half-mile, he had taken advan- 
tage of the ground, and made his first run down 
the descent from the Oakland House to the head of 
the stretch, and then being braced up for three hun- 
dred yards, which allowed him time to recover his 
wind, he was able to come again and make a second 
rally, as brilliant as the first. As we before re- 
marked, we think Wagner could beat Grey Eagle by 
a desperate rush for six hundred yards at the heel of 
a very fast heat, but not over a head and shoulders at 
that ; while Grey Eagle had so much more speed, 
that in a brush of one hundred and fifty yards he 
6* 



130 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

could let in the daylight between them. With so 
light and feeble a rider as Stephen on his back, it was 
impossible to place Grey Eagle exactly as his man- 
agers would have liked, though he is a fine-tempered 
horse, and runs kindly ; the result of the race, we 
trust, will be a caution to them hereafter, how they 
venture in a race of so much importance without pro- 
viding that most indispensable of requisites to success 
— a suitable jockey. Both horses perspired freely, and 
in much less time than could have been expected they 
cooled out finely ; neither hung out a signal of dis- 
tress, but came up for the second heat with distended 
nostrils and eyes of fire, betokening the most unflinch- 
ing courage. At the tap of the drum the horses were 
hardly in motion, and Cato drew his whip on Wagner 
the very first jump. The pace was little better than 
a hand-gallop for the first half-mile, but as Wagner 
led past the entrance-gate, Gooding bid him " go 
along," and he increased his rate. Stephen seeing 
this, let the gray out a link, and in going down the 
descending ground below the Oakland House, went 
up on the inside so suddenly, that he had locked Wag- 
ner before Cato was aware of his close proximity. 
The run up the quarter-stretch was a pretty fast thing, 
though neither was doing his best ; the time of the 
mile was 2.08. The crowd cheered them as they ran 
lapped past the stand, at which Grey Eagle pricked 
up his ears and set to work in earnest, shaking off" 
Wagner at the next turn. The race had now com- 
menced ; Stephen braced his horse as well as he 
was able, and kept him up to his rate down the entire 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 131 

length of the back stretch. At the Oakland House 
Cato again called on Wagner, and steel and catgnt 
came into play. The gallant gray led clear to the 
turn, and half-way up the stretch, Stephen beginning 
to use his whip-hand, and to give the nonpareil under 
him an occasional eye-opener with the spur. This 
mile was run in 1.52. They passed the stand neck 
and neck, Emily being already nearly out of her dis- 
tance. From the stand to the first turn the ground is 
descending, and here almost invariably Grey Eagle 
gained upon Wagner, who kept up one steady stride 
from end to end, without flinching or faltering, and 
able always to do a little more when persuaded by the 
cold steel with which Cato plied him ever and anon 
throughout the heat. We said they passed the stand 
on the second mile neck and neck ; when they reached 
the turn Grey Eagle had got in front, but no sooner 
had they come into straight work on the back side, 
than Wagner made a most determined challenge and 
locked him ; the contest was splendid, and was main- 
tained with unflinching game and spirit ; at the end 
of 700 yards, however, Grey Eagle had the best of 
it, for in spite of Cato's most desperate efforts Wagner 
could only reach Stephen's knee ; Grey Eagle seemed 
able, after a brush of one hundred yards, to come again 
with renewed vigor ; if well braced, for a dozen 
strides. Down the descent, on the last half-mile, 
Grey Eagle maintained his advantage, but on descend- 
ing towards the stand Wagner's strength told, and 
they came through under whip and spur, Wagner 
having his head and neck in front, running this mile 



132 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

in 1.55. Stephen was here instructed to take a strong 
pull on his horse, and to " keep him moving" while 
" ram the spurs into him" were the orders to Cato. 
The result was that Wagner came in front, and the 
pace down the entire back stretch was tremendous, 
both being kept up to their rate by the most terrible 
punishment. Unfortunately, Stephen was directed to 
" take the track " about opposite the Oakland House, 
instead of putting the issue on a brush up the last 
200 yards of the heat. Too soon the gallant Grey 
was called upon, but true as steel the noble animal 
responded to it. With the most dauntless courage he 
made his run down the descending ground, and 
though Wagner, like the bravest of the brave, as he 
is, made the most desperate efforts, Grey Eagle came 
round the last turn on the outside, with his head and 
shoulders in front, at a flight of speed we never saw 
equalled. Both jockeys were nearly faint with their 
exertions, and Stephen, poor fellow, lost his presence 
of mind. Up to the distance stand it was impossible 
to say which was ahead ; whips and spurs had been 
in constant requisition the entire mile, but at this 
moment Stephen gave up his pull, and unconsciously 
yawed the horse across the track, which broke him off 
his stride, while Cato, holding Wagner well together, 
and mercilessly dashing in his spurs, at length brought 
him through, a gallant winner by a neck, having run 
the last mile in 1.48, and the heat in 7.43 ! 

This was, without exception, the most game and 
spirited race we ever witnessed. The heat was Wag- 
ner's, and while we accord to him all the reputation 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 133 

so brilliantly won after a bloody struggle of nearly 
three miles, we feel bound to express the belief, that 
for an untried four-year-old, Grey Eagle's performance 
is without a parallel in the annals of the American 
Turf ! The last three miles of a second heat, in a 
second four-mile race the same week, were run in 
5.35, and the eighth mile in 1.48 ! 

The enthusiasm of the spectators was now excited 
to the highest pitch. There was not on the ground, 
probably, an individual who would not have been 
pleased to see the horses withdrawn, and the purses 
divided between them, rather than farther task the 
indomitable game and courage of these noble ani- 
mals ; but no such proposition was made, and after 
the usual respite they were brought to the post a 
third time, and it would have been difficult to decide 
which had recovered best. So much feeling was 
manifested in reference to the horses, that the baser 
impulses to bet on the result of the concluding heat 
were almost entirely disregarded ; odds, however, were 
in a few instances offered on "Wagner. In detailing 
the contest for the third heat, we are compelled to 
record 

U A few of the unpleasantest words 
That e'er man writ on paper ! " 

At the word " go" they broke off with a racing 
stride, "Wagner taking the lead by about two lengths ; 
the pace was moderate, for Stephen on Grey Eagle 
was expressly charged to pull him steady, and wait 
for orders. "Wagner accordingly led with an easy 



134 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

stroke through the first mile, and being cheered as 
he passed the stand, he widened the gap soon after to 
four or five lengths. At the half-mile post Grey 
Eagle made play, and had nearly closed the gap as 
they came opposite the Oakland House, when he sud- 
denly faltered as if shot, and after limping a step or 
two, abruptly stopped ! " Grey Eagle has let down ! " 
was the cry on all hands, and when the spectators 
became aware of the truth of the painful announce- 
ment, the tearful eyes of a radiant host of Kentucky's 
daughters, and the heartfelt sorrow depicted in the 
countenance of her sons, indicated the sincerity of 
the sympathy with which they regarded the untimely 
accident to their game and gallant champion ! It was 
supposed, on a hasty examination, that Grey Eagle 
had given way in the back sinews of his left fore 
leg, but it has since been ascertained that the in- 
jury was in the coffin joint. Mr. Burbridge on the 
instant tightly bandaged the leg with a stout strip of 
dry canvas, which being kept wet, would have pre- 
vented the horse from coming down on his pastern 
joints, even had his leaders given way. A fortnight 
after the race the horse promised to recover perfectly ; 
Mr. Shotwell informed us that the ankle and joint 
were a little swollen, but neither the horse's pastern 
nor cannon bones were affected, and his leaders were 
as stout as ever. "We need not add, that, while his 
owners and managers have the cordial sympathy 
of their friends, and the Sporting World generally, 
there is no one " with soul so dead " as to with- 
hold the expression of their admiration of the gal- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 135 

lant gray, and their heartiest wishes for his speedy 
recovery. 

Soon after Grey Eagle was stopped, Cato pulled 
Wagner ont of his stride, and galloped him slowly 
round. The intelligence of the high-mettled racer 
was clearly indicated by Wagner's subsequent action ; 
from the head of the stretch home he invariably went 
at a racing pace, and appeared as if he did not know 
what was required of him, frequently bursting off in 
spite of his rider. On the fourth mile, as he passed 
his own stable, the rubbers and riders standing on its 
roof gave him a hearty cheer, and the gallant horse 
broke off, and in spite of Cato's utmost exertions, ran 
at the very top of his speed for nearly 500 yards, as 
if plied with steel and whalebone the whole way ! 
We never saw a more magnificent exhibition of un- 
ilinching game ; even the friends of Grey Eagle forgot 
their distress for a moment, in doing justice by a 
cheer to the gallant and victorious champion of 
Louisiana ! 

Recapitulation : 

Saturday, Oct. 5. — Jockey Club purse, $1,500, conditions as be- 
fore, four-mile heats. James S. Garrison's and John Camp- 
bell's ch. h. Wagner, by Sir Charles, out of Maria "West, by 
Marion, 5 yrs Cato, 3 — 1 — 1 

A. L. Shotwell's gr. c. Grey Eagle, by "Woodpecker, ont of 
Ophelia, by "Wild Medley, 4 yrs. Stephen "Welch, 1 — 2 * 

"Willa Yiley's b. f. Emily Johnson, own sister to Singleton, by 
Bertrand, out of Black-eyed Susan, by Tiger, 4 yrs. 2 dist. 
Time, 7.51 — 7.43 — third heat, no time kept. 

* Grey Eagle gave way in second mile. 



136 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 



For more convenient reference, we repeat the time 
of each mile in tabular form : 



First Heat. 



1st mile 
2d " . 
3d " . 
4th " . 



2.05 
1.55 
1.56 
1.55 

7.51 



Second Heat. 



1st mile 
2d " . 
3d " . 
4th " . 



2.08 
1.52 
1.55 
1.48 

7.43 



Tliird Heat. 



No time kept, as Grey- 
Eagle gave way in run- 
ning the second mile. 



American Turf Register, vol ii., p. 119. 



CHAPTER YI. 

In the month of October, 1840, the editor 
writes : 

" During the whole of the last three years, the high rate of 
exchange, and the deranged condition of commercial affairs 
throughout the country, have rendered a continual struggle 
against the evils that followed in their train ahsolutely essential 
to the maintenance of our position, and have forced us to the 
most disagreeable and ruinous expedients. Like others, we flat- 
tered ourselves, from month to month, and from year to year, 
that a transition to better times could not be far distant, and we 
determined to defer yet a little longer the earnest appeal which 
we must now make to the sense of justice of every subscriber to 
either of our publications. The prompt payment of whatever 
sums which may be due to us, is the only means by which we 
can hope to sustain ourselves as proprietors of periodicals not 
entirely unworthy the countenance and support of the sporting 
world, as the sole accredited organs and official records of what- 
ever pertains to the American Turf." 

Another, and a vexations annoyance, induced the 
editor to appeal to the " felons " who had deprived 



138 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

him, at one fell swoop, of new and valuable music, 
and an opera-glass : 

" We live," said he, " in a musical age and in a musical coun- 
try ; but that is not a good reason (though perhaps a rational 
one as times go) that there should be a community in musical 
property. Yet such a phase of agrarianism has certainly pre- 
sented itself within these few days before our lamenting eyes. 
And now exjperientia docet what we had been before taught 
theoretically to believe — videlicet : Abstracting opera-glasses is 
a custom, which, as ' Soft Recorders ' have said or sung, ' is 
practised to a great extent in this country ! ' " 

While Mr. Porter was at the South, the sad intel- 
ligence reached him of the death of his brother Ben- 
jamin, on the 11th of December, 1840, by pulmonary 
consumption. He was designed for college, but pre- 
ferred the stirring activity of mercantile pursuits, and 
while preparing for his chosen walk in life, was a 
member of the family of Hon. George Blake, of Bos- 
ton, then United States Attorney for the District of 
Massachusetts. Not long after commencing business, 
in Mobile, Ala., he married Rebecca Seton Maitland, 
of New York, a ward of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Hobart. 
He had clear perceptions, cool judgment, remarkable 
shrewdness, and was stamped with more than ordi- 
nary mental vigor. In the words of Horace Greeley 
to the writer, " he was a strong character," but want- 
ing that stimulus to exertion which the pursuit of a 
competency keeps alive and effective ; his really 
remarkable capabilities were never fully developed. 
Happy are they whose circumstances are the spur to 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 139 

useful and generous toil, be it mental or bodily ; so 
that " the Spring and Summer of life may be prepara- 
tory to the harvest of Autumn, and the repose of 
winter." 

On his return to New York in 1841, from the 
South and West, Mr. Porter thus playfully alludes to 
the overwhelming load of commissions for Southern 
and Western friends that required his first attention 
upon getting home : 

" Every nook and corner of the office we find filled with 
letters and communications, and we have commissions enough to 
employ seven men and a boy for a fortnight. All sorts of ' fixins ' 
are wanted from blood horses to copper coal scuttles — from long- 
tailed sows and short-legged pigs, to jockey spurs and patent 
lightning-rods. One gentleman alone wants a 3-year-old Bare- 
foot colt, a gardener, a trotting stallion, a 3-year-old jockey, a 
Durham bull, a trainer and a mousetrap ! Nothing, however, 
gives us more pleasure than to have it in our power to oblige our 
friends ; and as we are in want of all sorts of truck, persons would 
do well to make known at this office if they have ' on sale or to 
let ' either setters or saddles, chestnut horses or horse chestnuts, 
rifles or radish-seed, fighting cocks or patent axle-trees, frogs 
for frying or tragedians for dying, wet nurses or salmon flies, 
Muscovy hens or pointers, pullets, Chifney bits, or Smith's Lay 
Sermons, indelible ink or Ely's wire cartridges, camp meeting 
hymn books or Conroy's best trout rods, three-year-old fillies or 
presents for New Year's, Bowie knives or Nicholas Nickleby, the 
last ladies' fashions or songs of Jim Crow, old files of the ' Spirit ' 
or the latest new caricatures, tandem whips or country-house 
almanacs, racing plates or French mustard, patent side-saddles or 
ivory toddy-sticks, timing watches or Troy-built coaches. We 
cannot begin to think of half the things that are marked down in 
our memorandum-book, under the general head of '-wants,' 1 ' 
though several leaves might be filled up with our own under the 
head of ' New Subscribers,' and ' Available funds." 



140 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

In the number for March 27, 1841, may be found 
that most admirable sketch of backwoods life, the 
"Big Bear of Arkansas" which was expressly writ- 
ten for the paper, by the author of " Tom Owen the 
Bee Hunter," Col. T. B. Thorpe, who, now in the 
mutation of all sublunary things, is no longer a resi- 
dent of Louisiana, but of New York, and a successor 
to his old friend and patron, as one of the editors and 
proprietors of the very paper which, nearly a score of 
years ago, was enriched by his graphic delineations 
and quiet humor. 

While in New Orleans, Mr. Porter witnessed the 
race between Sarah Bladen and Luda, which was 
won by the former in 7.45 — 7.40 ; and which he pro- 
nounced at the time to be the best race ever run south 
of the Potomac ; a few weeks afterwards he wrote to 
the < Spirit ' : 

" I have now to write that on this, the 20th day of March, I 
have seen a race which throws the one referred to, comparatively 
in the shade. Rely upon it Grey Medoc's race to-day, is the best 
race ever run in America ! I have witnessed nearly all the great 
performances on the Turf for several years past, but I have never 
seen a race more desperately contested, or more gallantly won. 
Even the beaten horses have acquired a reputation which a suc- 
cession of bloodless victories would not have won for them. I 
doubt if it will ever be my good fortune to see such another per- 
formance, and much do I regret that want of ability not less than 
leisure, prevents my doing justice to a race that Avill occupy the 
most distinguished place in the racing calendar, and go down 
through all time as one of the most magnificent exhibitions on 
record of the surpassing speed and game of the High Mettled 
Racer of America. It was a four-mile race over the Louisiana 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 141 

Course, {over a mile in length,) won by Grey Medoc. Beaticg 
Altorf and Denizen. Time : 7.35—8.19—7.42—8.17." 

The paper of June 5 contains several columns of 
interesting matter, written by the editor while in 
Kentucky ; we can spare room but for a single para- 
graph : 

" Since my arrival in Kentucky, I think I must have seen 
from one to two thousand thorough-bred colts ! I have tramped 
miles upon miles through the magnificent woodland pastures, 
admiring the different varieties of the ' long ' and ' short ' horned 
cattle, and the cattle with no horns at all, and have come to 
think no small beer of myself as a judge of long-tailed pigs and 
flat-tailed sheep. I do not ' cotton ' to mules, though I saw four 
driven up to the door of the Gait House this morning, (May 27th,) 
hitched to the mail stage between this city (Louisville) and Nash- 
ville ; they run out and into town daily, making sixteen miles, 
and trot eight miles an hour, the driver tells me. But as for the 
' splendid Jacks ' you hear so much of, they can give odds to 
any thing wearing hair for ugliness ; if Balaam's ass was such a 
fright as some I've seen here, it is not so surprising that he 
spoke; each particular bone and hair in his skin must have 
ached!" 

In the ' Spirit " of Nov. 13, the editor thus chron- 
icles the return of his friend Robert L. Stevens, from 
Europe, after an absence of a few months : 

" ' Stephens' Travels in South America ' is the most popular 
book of the season, but it would be so no longer if our neighbor 
Mr. Stevens, of Barclay Street, would ' witch the world ' with an 
account of the thousand and one rare things he has seen and 
heard, men and women, too, inclusive, during his tour of some 
ten thousand miles or more. He heard Eubini and Lablache, 



142 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 

and saw Coronation win the Derby. He has seen Glaucus and 
Louis Philippe, the Royal Yacht Club, and the Alps. He saw 
much of Hamburg, but a good deal more of humbug. He visited 
the most celebrated breeding studs in England, and the veritable 
Maria Farina at Cologne. He saw Taglione in the Beyadere, 
and the National Column at the Place Vendome. He visited 

Tattersall's at ■ , and the Emperor at Vienna ; raised his hat 

to the Pope in Rome, and to the Queen of Beauty in Buckingham 
Palace. He has ridden in the diligence at Calais, and the pony 
phaeton at Windsor. Has talked horse with Prince Albert, and 
soft nonsense with Eachel. The doors of science, genius and 
fashion were thrown open to him, and the Marquis of Waterford 
wrenched off the knocker of his lodgings. He visited the ' Curios- 
ity Shop ' with the Boss, (' Boz,') and thought of ' Old Nap ' and 
Boston on the field of Waterloo. He achieved the dinners at 
Milan while he abominated the chops of the Channel. He saw 
Deaf Burlce set-to in London, and set to Isabey himself in Paris. 
Brougham he thought had a very queer handle, (who nose ?) and he 
saw all the world in Hyde Park. He found Compte d'Orsay's tiger 
quite tame, and thought Mrs. Norton very like an ' undying one ; ' 
He heard her new comedy, and Soult rehearse his old campaigns. 
He saw Byron's Chateau near Genoa, and Harkaway's stables at 

the . He walked through the Tunnel and the Louvre, over 

the Vatican and Epsom Downs. He saw the sausage makers at 
Boulogne, and the sausage eaters at Berlin. He ' took a private 
drink ' with Metternich at Johannisberg, and ' pot luck ' with 
the Duke at Apsley House. He saw Jem Ward and Mme. Laf- 
farge ; the Due d'Orleans and Mrs. Trollope ; the Tower and the 
guillotine ; Grockford's Club and the Palais Royal ; the house 
that Jack built and Westminster Abbey. He — but we must 
stop short." 

In 1842 a change took place in the proprietorship 
of the paper, which resulted from a variety of circum- 
stances. The management of all its departments, 
fiscal and literary, in the hard times then weighing 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 143 

down the community, was too great a tax on the 
energies of any one person ; while the ruinous dis- 
count upon Western and Southern bank notes, added 
to the depressed state of the country, and the back- 
wardness of subscribers to liquidate their accounts, 
(the amount then due to the office being more than 
forty thousand dollars,) rendered it impossible longer 
to carry on the war under such adverse circumstances. 
To perfect some proposed improvements in the paper, 
and to relieve the editor of a portion of the arduous 
and responsible duties which had hitherto devolved 
upon him, the "business of the office was placed in the 
hands of Mr. John Richards, a printer by profession, 
and who, up to the last week of his life in February, 
1859, gave strict attention to its various details. The 
writer was acquainted with Mr. Richards for years 
before the sale of the paper to him, and met him at 
the " Spirit " office only a few days before his unex- 
pected death ; during all that time, he ever found 
" The Governor " an honest, reliable and independent 
man. 

In April, Mr. Porter published a very thorough 
and well-considered article called " Profit and Loss 
Account " of the " Spirit," a part of which we insert. 
After alluding to the perplexities of some of the pre- 
vious years, he pertinently asks : 

" What lias been effected by all this labor of years, followed 

up under such discouragement and annoyances ; what has the 

' Spirit of the Times ' done for the Turf or the Sporting World ? 

To this we proceed to answer : 

• "It has added thirty pee cent, to the value oe blood 



14:4: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 

stock throughout the United States ! In this we are borne out 
not alone by our own observation, but by the testimony of the 
most sagacious Turfmen in the country, and the most extensive 
Breeders. Nor in the universal decline of prices consequent 
upon the disordered currency of the last few years, has the price 
of Blood Stock fallen so rapidly or so low as other descriptions 
of property. This paper was the first that ever paid Travelling 
Correspondents, by which the earliest and most important Sport- 
ing Intelligence was procured and disseminated, and by which a 
system of Correspondence was established through which events 
of interest transpiring hundreds of miles distant have been com- 
municated and published in its columns at a date as early in 
many cases as in the local newspapers. The utmost efforts were 
requisite and immense expense was involved for several years 
before it was possible to effect this consummation. In its early 
career, too, the ' Spirit ' had to contend with many formidable 
rivals, which one by one either broke down or were withdrawn. 
" The salutary effects of reporting every race in the Union and 
in Canada, and the principal ones in Great Britain, are manifest 
in the increased degree of good feeling and intimacy existing 
between the Turfmen and Breeders of the different States — in the 
promotion of the sales of horses, in the Importation of choice 
Blood from abroad, and in the encouragement of the best of our 
Native Bred Stock. And no sensible person can doubt that 
hundreds of individuals have been induced, by reading of the 
success of others, to invest large sums in Stock, and enter exten- 
sively both upon Breeding and Bacing — than which no invest- 
ment can be more honorable, or more advantageous to the 
Agricultural Interests of the country. Thousands have borne 
testimony, and will yet do so, with what zeal this department of 
the paper has been conducted, and how beneficial an influence it 
has exerted upon their individual revenues. How many young 
Trainers have we brought into notice, and inspirited to become 
useful and respectable members of society ; and how many 
jockeys have been convinced that ' honesty is the best policy,' 
from seeing their names in print, accompanied by a gratifying 
remark ! How many gentlemen about to decline the Turf have 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 145 

been induced to persevere from reading of brilliant stakes and 
high prices paid for horses ; and how many sales of stock have 
been effected by making breeders and turfmen better acquainted 
with each other ! Of our friends and acquaintances, not a few 
are indebted to us, possibly unknowingly, for interposing a 
shield between them and detraction. Many have we served, and 
in their time of need. And how many have we rendered prom- 
inent and popular, whose modest, sterling worth, would otherwise 
have been unknown beyond their own neighborhoods ? Others 
there are whose interests are watched over with as keen an eye as 
our own ; and there are many whom we have disenthralled from 
deep-rooted prejudices and absurd misapprehensions ; and many 
whom we have cheered on and supported in the good cause by a 
timely suggestion, a favorable notice, and an appeal to their pride, 
or by prudential advice. Nor may we altogether omit to mention 
that we have been in the constant habit for years, of executing 
commissions of all descriptions for our sporting subscribers, 
whether acquaintances or not, without any charge whatever, 
though frequently thereby subjected to serious inconvenience 
and expense. The person obliged being a subsckibek, we have 
performed whatever labor of love was required with the most 
cheerful readiness. 

" Nor do our claims on the Sportsmen of the United States 
stop here. We claim to have elevated the character of the pur- 
suits of the Turf to a pitch they had never before reached in 
public estimation on this side the Atlantic. When this journal 
was commenced, the strongest prejudice existed, especially at the 
North, towards Eacing and Eacing men. This prejudice had 
been lineally transmitted from the Puritans of New England, 
who, carrying to an extreme their hatred of the civil and religious 
principles of the Cavaliers, involved in a sweeping and indiscrimi- 
nate censure the excessive loyalty, the haughty assumption, and 
the religious intolerance which distinguished the aristocratic 
party, with the gallantry, the courtesy, and love of manly amuse- 
ments, which rendered the exercise of their power at least grace- 
ful and elegant. We have cautiously eschewed sympathy with 
such English amusements as are deemed brutal and gross in either 
7 



146 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

country, and as sedulously exhibited the fairer side of the picture, 
recording the proceedings on the Turf and in the Field of the 
legitimate ' Old English Sportsmen ' — a class of gentlemen com- 
posed of the proudest, most enlightened, and most refined of the 
nobility and gentry of Great Britain. Holding up so constantly 
the example of the best blood of the old country, we have like- 
wise made the public at large more intimately acquainted with 
the high character and social position of our Turfmen, till the 
prejudice which once universally here prevailed towards a 'horse- 
racer,' has become extinct, save in the breasts of those who 
equally condemn the most tasteful and delightful recreations of 
society. 

" To effect our purpose, unwearied pains have been employed 
to give the ' Spirit of the Times ' some portion of Literary repu- 
tation, and we have great satisfaction in recording that we have 
upon our list many subscribers utterly indifferent to the sporting 
department of the paper, but who have taken it from first to last 
because they have approved the spirit in which we have culled 
for them from the Periodical Literature of England. And again, 
we have aimed still further to advance our primary design, by 
associating with Field Sports and Pastimes the pleasures of 
the Stage. A due share of room has ever been devoted to 
the subject, the most disinterested support has been given to 
managers and actors worthy of support ; a complete record has 
been kept of the current productions of the day, wh ether in 
Music, the Drama, or the Ballet, and we have faithfully chronicled 
the movements of the ' professionals ' in each art, their triumphs, 
and their reverses. This we have done with no expectation or 
hope of emolument from this class — their patronage, all told, 
never has repaid a tithe of the expense and trouble it has cost — 
but with the double intent of making the contents of the ' Spirit ' 
more various, and upholding in an accredited organ the pleasures 
of the Turf and the Stage, as these pleasures are in fact found 
associated in the minds of all true American Sportsmen. 

" To the Agriculturists of the West, too, we have endeavored 
to make our journal acceptable by seasonable extracts from the 
Agricultural writers of Great Britain, where the science has 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 147 

reached nearest perfection. Considerable space Las been given 
to original and selected bints npon tbe improvement of tbe Do- 
mestic Stock of the country ; and the enterprising, and in a 
national point of view, most deserving, importer and breeder of 
Cattle, and Sheep, and Swine, has been encouraged and assisted 
in the profitable disposition of his stock, by editorial comment, 
and private individual exertion. 

"In fine, while we have made ours most emphatically a 
spoetino papee, and as such, a paper accredited for accuracy, for 
fulness and impartiality, it has been our constant aim to elevate 
its character by associating with this peculiar feature the charms 
of Polite Letters, and the delights of Music and the Theatre ; to 
elevate in popular estimation the true position of our Turfmen, 
to commend their elegant hospitality and tastes, their devotion 
not alone to the Manly Diversions of the Field, but their warm 
sympathy with the Arts, by which Social Life is adorned. 

" Measurably, we have succeeded in our purpose ; the charac- 
ter of the Turf has been redeemed at the North, and the standing 
of its devotees made familiar among gentlemen, not alone here, 
but in England. 'Tis but a short time since that in England the 
impression was universal that the only American sport was Trot- 
ting — our best thorough-bred but a three-minute roadster, and 
our proudest sportsman but a wily jockey of some ' fast crab.' 
Those days are gone. Our Turfmen are now known at ' the 
Corner,' to those best worth knowing ; our great races are re- 
ported in English newspapers ; the merits of our ' cracks ' are 
understood, and the pages of their elegant magazines are adorned 
with portraits of Boston and Eashion, and costly illustrations of 
many capital articles contributed originally to these columns. 
Henceforth the United States will be regarded as the only nation 
that can compete with them in bringing to perfection the Blood 
Horse, and in carrying out a thorough and business-like system 
of Racing, by which alone all improvements must be tested. 
Throughout Great Britain, indeed wherever the English language 
is spoken, the ' Spirit of the Times ' is known as the ' Bell's Life ' 
of the New "World — the organ of the American Sporting World. 
Through this medium the fame of our Horses and the spirit of 



148 LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

our Turfmen are known not only throughout Europe, but in the 
Indies, "West and East. J The breeders of France and Germany, 
the best continental customers of England, are already turning 
their eyes to the United States, as likely to become at no distant 
day, the ' Eace Horse Eegion ' from whence their importations 
are to be made. Our system of racing — ' long distances and heats 
to boot ' — is eminently popular out of England, while even there 
many of the most sensible writers and speakers [vide Sir Francis 
Burdett's Speech upon the sale of His late Majesty's Stud] view with 
concern and regret the present British system of racing, which 
is calculated to deteriorate the old-fashioned, hard-bottomed stock 
of the English Race Horse — to produce speed at the expense of 
game and stoutness — to beget a breed of quarter horses instead 
of four milers, — the King's Platers of a former era. The ' Spirit,' 
too, has made the Turfmen of Europe familiar with the names of 
the Corinthian columns of the American Turf. Our Hamptons, 
our Stevenses, our Kennees, and our Stocktons, are known 
throughout the world like the Portlands, the Clevelands, and 
the Bentincks of England. The Livingstons and Johnsons of 
the New "World are as eminently conspicuous as the Chester- 
fields and Geosvenoes of the Old. 

" We approach now the last and most miserable topic in this 
long article. After having thus devoted ten of the best years 
of our life, with all the means, the influence, the industry, and 
the ability we could command, we have realized — what ? Why 
on paper, quite a snug little property, but, in truth, not the first 
red cent ! With nearly Fifty Thousand Dollars due it, this jour- 
nal passed from ours into other hands, for an amount which 
would not command a moderate race-horse ! "What have we 
gained, then, beyond the ephemeral reputation of a newspaper 
writer? This, to be sure, is flattering enough to our vanity, 
but will it make the ' pot boil ' ? "With the same reputation, 
enterprise, means, and perseverance, ought we not to have in- 
sured 

' that which should accompany old age, 

As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends ? ' 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 149 

We are not prepared to estimate the value of editorial popularity, 
nor the worth of the good opinion of the Sporting World, but 
we are almost tempted to say from 'present indications upon 
which we shall shortly dwell, that had we the past ten years of 
our life to live over again, and were offered the wages of a journey- 
man wood-sawyer, we should certainly hesitate before giving up 
the ' wages ' for the ' popularity ' — the saw horse for the race 
horse. 

" It is true that we have acquired a fund of knowledge and 
great experience, but that we can ever make them available is 
yet to be seen. We have won in high places the consideration 
of those whose mere passing acquaintance is a passport to general 
favor. ' Praise from Sir Hubert Stanley is praise indeed ! ' and we 
have received it spontaneously at the hands of thousands. Many, 
very many stanch friends have we made, and thousands of most 
desirable acquaintances. Of the former, several ' whose evil stars 
have linked them with us,' have a claim upon our never-ceasing 
gratitude and regard, which is inscribed in our heart of hearts. 
The consideration which most embitters our regret for past mis- 
fortunes, is, that we have involved some of them in our own 
losses, and those friends the most disinterested and generous. 

" But we do by no means yet ' give up the ship.' With our 
habits of application, experience in the profession we have chosen, 
and claims upon the good wishes of the racing community, joined 
to good health, economy, and the energy of one determined to 
succeed, and not too old to grapple with the great world, it will 
be singular indeed if we are not able at no very distant day to 
stand upon our legs again, free from obligations of every descrip- 
tion." 



CHAPTER YII. 

RACE OF BOSTON AND FASHION, MAY 10, 1842. 

The great sectional match for $20,000 a side, four- 
mile heats, between the North and the South, came 
off on Tuesday last, the 10th inst. Since the memor- 
able contest between Eclipse and Henry, on the 27th 
of May, 1823, no race has excited so much interest 
and enthusiasm. It attracted hundreds of individuals 
from the remotest sections of the Union, and for 
months has been the theme of remark and speculation, 
not only in the sporting circles of this country, but in 
England, where the success of the northern champion 
was predicted. It was a most thrilling and exciting 
race — one which throws in the shade the most cele- 
brated of those wonderful achievements which have 
conferred so much distinction upon the high-mettled 
racers of America ! 

In the early part of the year 1842, the annus 
mirdbilis of Turfmen, came off the great race be- 
tween Boston and Fashion. It was a match between 
the North and the South. Col. William R. John- 
son, of Virginia, challenged in the newspapers the 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 151 

whole world to run against his horse Boston, and 
gave a special challenge to William Gibbons, Esq., of 
New Jersey, to run for §20,000 a side. The latter 
was not in the habit of betting, and gave the use of 
his mare Fashion to some of his friends, who made 
up the money and accepted the challenge. The sub- 
joined article by Mr. Porter, in regard to the chal- 
lenge and the pedigrees and performances of the two 
horses, will be a fit and valuable introduction to his 
subsequent and spirited report of the race itself : 

The following letter containing the acceptance 
of Boston's challenge to Fashion has been communi- 
cated exclusively to the " Spirit of the Times," by the 
gentleman who made the match on behalf of the 
friends of Fashion : 

New Yore, November 30, 1841. 

William K. Johnson, Esq. : Dear Sir*, — The challenge from 
yourself and Mr. James Long, to run Boston against Fashion, 
Eour-mile heats, over the Union Course, L. I., agreeable to the 
rules of the Course, in Spring 1842, or any day during the month 
of May, for $20,000 a side, (New York money,) one-half, or one- 
fourth forfeit, as may be agreeable to the friends of Fashion — is 
accepted by me on their behalf. I name the second Tuesday in 
May, (the 10th,) 1842, as the day of the race ; and $5,000 (or 
one-fourth) as the amount of forfeit, which sum has been placed 
in the hands of J. Peescott Hall, Esq., President of the New 
York Jockey Club. The same amount being received by him 
from you, the whole forfeit ($10,000) will be deposited by him 
in one of the city banks. Yours most respectfully, T. 

The acceptance above was mailed on Tuesday last, 
the 30th ult, being the last day of November, accord- 



152 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

ing to the terms of the challenge, and the forfeit on 
each side has since been deposited in one of the city 
banks. As the match will be a general topic of dis- 
cussion during the winter throughout the country, we 
have thought the sporting world would be obliged to 
us for an authentic statement of the several perform- 
ances of the two horses, with a brief account of their 
characteristics, etc. With this view we have compiled 
with the utmost care the following brief memoirs : 

BOSTON'S PEDIGREE, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PER- 
FORMANCES. 

Boston was bred by the late John Wickham, Esq., 
of Richmond, Va., the eminent jurisconsult, and was 
foaled in Henrico County, in 1833. He was got by 
the celebrated Timoleon out of Robin Brown's dam 
(an own sister to TuoJcahoe, also bred by Mr. W.) by 
Ball's Florizel, her dam by Imp. Alderman, out of a 
mare by Imp. Clockfast — her grandam by Symmes' 
Wildair, etc. [For a detailed memoir, and a portrait 
of Boston, see the " Spirit of the Times," of March 
7th ,' T 1840.] Boston was sold by Mr. Wickham, in 
his two-year-old form to Mr. Nathaniel Rives, of 
Richmond, Va., for $800, and was trained in 1836-7 
by Capt. John Belcher, who had charge of one 
" cavalry corps " from Col. Johnson's stable, while 
Arthur Taylor had another. Cornelius, a colored lad, 
was Boston's jockey up to 27th April, 1839. Ever 
since the spring campaign of 1838, Boston has been 
trained by Arthur Taylor and ridden by Gil Patrick, 
until this spring when Craig took Gil's place, the 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER 153 

latter having gone to Kentucky to ride several im- 
portant races, all of which he won. In May, 1839, 
after the first heat of his race against Decatur and 
Vashti, Boston was sold to Mr. James Long, of 
Washington City, for $12,000 and half of the purse, 
and he is still owned by Mr. L. and Col. ¥m, E. 
Johnson, of Petersburg, Ya. 

Boston is a chestnut, with white stockings on both 
hind feet, and a white stripe down the face. In other 
respects than color and marks, Boston closely re- 
sembles the British phenomenon, Harkaway. They 
have alike prodigious depth of chest, and immensely 
powerful loins, thighs, and hocks. Boston is a trifle 
only above 15J hands high, under the standard, but 
to the eye seems taller, owing to his immense sub- 
stance; he is a short-limbed horse, with a barrel 
rather flat, or " slab-sided " than round, and well- 
ribbed home, while his back is a prodigy of strength ; 
ten pounds extra weight would hardly " set him back 
any." Though he has occasionally sulked, Boston 
runs on his courage, and is never ridden with spurs. 
He is no beauty, his neck and head being unsightly, 
while his hips are ragged, rendering him " a rum 'un 
to look at ;" that he is "a good 'un to go," however, 
we imagine will be generally conceded after reading 
the annexed recapitulation of 

HIS PERFORMANCES. 

1836. 

April 20, Broad Rock, Va. . .Sweepstakes.. .Mile heats lost $ 

Boston 3 years old, bolted in the 1st heat, when running ahead. 

7* 



154: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

Oct. 12, Petersburg, Va Purse 2 mile heats, .won $300 

Beating N. Biddle, Maiy Archie, Juliana, John Floyd, and ch. f. 
by Henry. 

Nov. 3, Hanover C. H., Va. .Purse 3 mile heats, .won 400 

Beating Betsey Minge, Upton Heath, Nick Biddle, Alp. Bayard, 
and a Gohanna filly. 

1837. 

May 4, Washington City. . . .Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 

Beating Norwood, Mary Selden, Meteor, Lydia, bro. to Virginia 
Graves. 

Oct. 5, Washington City. . . .Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 

. Beating Prince George, Stockton, Mary Selden, Yirginia Graves, 
Caroline Snowden, and Leesburg, in 5.50—5.52. 

Oct. 19, Baltimore, Md Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 

Beating Camsidel, Cippus, and Bed Eat, in 5.51 — 6.08. 
Oct. 25, Camden, N. J Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 

Beating Betsey Andrew and Tipton, in 5.51—6.02. 

1S38. 

May 3, Union Course, L. I. .Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 

Boston, now 5 years old, walked over. 

May 18, Beacon Course, N. J. Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Beating Dosoris, without extending himself. 

May 25, Camden, N. J Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Beating Decatur, who bad just distanced Fanny "Wyatt, in a 
match for $10,000, in 7.45, at Washington. 

June 1, Union Course, L. I. .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Beating Charles Carter, who broke down, in 7.40— the first three 
miles run in 5:36 i ! ! 1 

June 8, Beacon Course, N. J. Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Beating Duane, who won the 1st heat in 7.52—7.54—8.30. B. 
Sulked. 

Oct. 4, Petersburg, Va Purse 4 mile heats, .won 700 

Beating Polly Green in a canter. 
Oct. 13, Baltimore, Md Purse 4 mile heats, .won 700 

Beating Balie Peyton, who had won a heat from Duane in 7.42. 

Oct. 19, Baltimore, Md Purse 4 mile heats, .rec. 500 

Boston was paid $500 out of the purse not to start. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 155 

Oct. 27, Camden, N. J Purse 4 mile heats, .rec. $500 

Boston was paid $500 out of the parse not to start. 
Nov. 2, Union Course, L. I. .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Beating Decatur with ease in 8.00 — 7.57£. 

Not. 9, Beacon Course, N. J. Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Beating Decatur. This year B. won nine Jockey Club Purses, 
and received $1,000 more for not starting. 

1839. 

April 16, Petersburg, Ya.. . .Match 2 mile heats, .lost 

Beaten by Portsmouth in 3.50 — 3.48, B. being off his foot. 

April 27, Broad Rock, Va.. .Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 

Beating Lady Clifden and Brocklesby in 5.46 with ease— the 
best time ever made on this course. 

May 9, Washington City. . . .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 800 

Beating Tom "Walker, Black Knight, Reliance, and Sam Brown, 
7.53—8.06. 

May 24, Camden, N. J Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Boston, now six years, walked over, though several M cracks " 
were on the ground. 

May 31, Trenton, N". J Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Beating Decatur and Yashti with ease. V. had just won a 2d 
heat in 7.46. 

June 7, Union Course, L. I. .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Beating Decatur and Balie Peyton cleverly in 7.47—8.02. 
Sept. 26, Petersburg, Ya P. and Stake. .4 mile heats, .won 7,000 

Beating the Queen and Omega in 8.02 — 7.52— best time made on 
the course, to this date. 

Oct. 17, Camden, N". J P. and Stake. .4 mile heats, .won 7,000 

Beating Omega in 7.49. O. had won a heat at "Washington in 7.40 ! 

Oct. 23, Trenton, N. J. Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Beating Decatur and Master Henry in 7.57—7.56. 

1840. 

May 1, Petersburg, Ya Purse 4 mile heats, .won 700 

Beating Andrewetta, who won the 1st heat in 7.50 — 8.04— the 
best time ever made on the course. 

May 8, Washington City. . . .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 

Beating Eeliance and Cippus without a struggle. 



156 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

Oct. 2, Petersburg, Ya Purse 4 mile heats, .won $700 

Beating Brandt, who was drawn after 1st heat in 7.57. 
Oct. 8, Broad Rock, Ya Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 

Beating Texas, Balie Peyton, and Laneville in 5.56 — 5.49. 
Dec. 7, Augusta, Ga Match 4 mile heats, .won 10,000 

Beating Gano in a gallop in 7.57, after which G-. was drawn. 

Dec. 17, Augusta, Ga Purse 4 mile heats. ,won 800 

Beating Santa Anna and Omega in 7:52—7:49. 

1841. 

In the Spring, Boston stood at Chesterfield, Ya., and cover- 
ed 42 mares at $100 each. 

Sept. 30, Petersburg, Ya. . . .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 700 

Beating Texas without an effort. 

Oct. 8, Alexandria, D. C Purse 4 mile heats, .won 800 

Boston walked over, though several cracks were present. 

Oct. 15, Washington City. . .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 800 

Beating Accident, Ned Hazard, and Greenhill with ease. 

Oct. 21, Baltimore, Md, . ...Purse 4 mile heats, .won 600 

Beating Mariner, who won the 1st heat in 8.00^ — 8.05 — 8.10 — 
course very heavy. 

Oct. 28, Camden, N". J Purse 4 mile heats, .lost 

Distanced by John Blount and Fashion in 7.42 —Blount broke 
down in 2d heat, which was won by Fashion, in 7.48. Bos- 
ton dead amiss, and unable to run a mile under 2:10. 

Starting thirty-eight times, and winning thirty -five races — 
twenty-six of them at four mile heats, and seven at 
three mile heats — winning $49,500 

Add for his earnings in the breeding stud, Spring of 1841, 4,200 

Boston's winnings and earnings amount to the enormous 

sum of $53,700 

It is due to Boston to state that in his four-year- 
old form he was prevented from starting for the large 
purses offered for four mile heats, by being in the 
same stable with Atalanta, Lady Clifden, Argyle, 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 157 

and Mary Blunt. And it is no less due to him than 
to his liberal and high-spirited owners to add that 
from a regard to the best interests of the Turf, they 
have frequently allowed him to remain in his stable, 
when by starting him they could have taken the 
purses without an effort. Boston, after his match 
with Gano, at Augusta, could have won a Jockey 
Club purse there, and at Savannah and Charleston. 
In the spring of 1840, he started but twice, though he 
could have easily won every four-mile purse given 
between Petersburg and Long Island. His owners, 
in the latter instance, were personally appealed to 
and consented to send him home from Washington, 
while one of the Northern proprietors proposed to 
exclude him from running. Several other occasions 
might be named on which Boston has been withdrawn 
from the contest, at the request of the proprietors of 
courses, upon a representation that his entrance would 
destroy the sport and disappoint the public. 

Boston, now at the advanced age of eight years, 
after a racing career of unparalleled severity, is. still 
as sound as a dollar, with legs as free from blemish as a 
three-year old. The field of his brilliant, never-fad- 
ing victories extends from New York to Georgia, and 
he has not only beaten, one after another, every horse 
within his reach, but he has challenged all others, 
offering to meet them on their own ground. Na- 
poleon found a Waterloo and so has Boston, but the 
latter is beaten, not defeated ; like the former it will 
be found that " he is never more to be feared than in 
his reverses." When dead amiss he was beaten, it 



158 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

is true ; the race was a splendid one — one of the best 
ever run in America — but Boston had no part in it ; 
he could not have beaten a cocktail on that occasion, 
and instead of being backed as usual at " 1,000 to 
300, nineteen times over," his owners did not lay out 
a dollar on him ! Since he was taken up this fall his 
owners determined to give him a trial to see whether 
his speed or game had been affected by his services 
in the breeding stud. An eye-witness of this trial, 
who went over two hundred miles to see it, has assur- 
ed us that it was not only the best trial Boston ever 
made, but it was the best trial ever made over a 
course which has been trained on for half a century ! 
Since that event Boston has offered to run four-mile 
heats " against any two horses in the world" for 
$45,000, which was not accepted, and since his de- 
feat at Camden, by Fashion, he has challenged her 
to run him next spring for $20,000. The winner of 
this match will richly merit and most assuredly re- 
ceive the proud title of Champion of the American 
Turf ; let us hope, therefore, that each will come to 
the post in tip-top condition, and we may confidently 
anticipate witnessing the best race, without exception, 
ever run in America. 



FASHION'S PEDIGREE, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PER- 
FORMANCES. 

Fashion was bred by William Gibbons, Esq., of 
Madison, Morris County, !N". J., where she was foaled 
on the 26th April, 1837. It would be difficult to sit 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 159 

down over the stud book and compile a richer pedi- 
gree than her's, and the same remark will apply to 
Boston. Each is descended from the most eminently 
distinguished racing families on the side of both sire 
and dam, that have figured on the Turf for a hundred 
years. Fashion was got by Mr. Livingston's imp. 
Trustee, out of the celebrated Bonnets-o^-Blue by Sir 
Charles, and she out of Reality — " the very best race 
horse," says Col. Johnson, " I ever saw." Reality 
was got by Sir Archy, and her pedigree extends 
back through the imported horses Medley, Oentinel, 
Janus, Monkey, Silver-Eye, and Spanker, to an im- 
ported Spanish mare. Trustee, the sire of Fashion, 
was a distinguished race-horse in England, and sold 
at three years old for 2,000 guineas, to the Duke of 
Cleveland, after running 3d in the race for the Derby 
of 101 subscribers. He was subsequently imported 
by Messrs. Ogden, Corbin, and Stockton. Trustee 
was foaled in 1829, and was got by Catton out of Em- 
ma by Whisker, and combines the blood of Hermes, 
Pipator, and Sir Peter, on his dam's side, with that 
of Penelope by Trumjpator, and Prunella by High- 
flyer, on the side of his sire. Trustee is not a chance 
horse ; in addition to other winners of his family, in 
1835, his own brother, Mundig, won the Derby of 
128 subscribers. 

Fashion is a rich, satin-coated chestnut, with a 
star, and a ring of white above the coronet of her left 
hind foot ; on her right quarter she is marked 
with three dark spots, like Plenipo, and other " ter- 
ribly high-bred cattle." She is about 15£ hands high 



160 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

under the standard, rising high on the withers, with a 
light head and neck, fanltless legs, an oblique, well- 
shaped shoulder, and a roomy, deep, and capacious 
chest. She has good length of barrel, which is well 
ribbed out, and her loins are well arched and sup- 
ported by strong fillets. Though finely put up fore- 
handed, her great excellence consists in the muscular 
developments of her quarters, thighs, and gaskins. 
As in the greyhound and the hare, the seat of the 
propelling power in the horse, which enables him to 
move with a great degree of velocity, is centred in his 
hind-quarters ; necessarily in proportion to their 
strength there, will be the impulse which impels the 
whole mass forward. 

Fashion has been trained for all her engagements 
by Mr. Samuel Laird, of Colt's Keck, N. J., and 
ridden by his son Joseph, the best jockey at the north. 
Mr. Gibbons, her owner, having been unfortunate 
with his former trainer (who nearly rained Mariner 
in breaking him), and who is opposed to the general 
plan of training colts at two years old, resolved that 
Fashion should not be taken up until her form had 
attained a greater degree of maturity ; consequently 
she was not brought out until the fall of her three- 
year-old year. Fashion goes with a long rating 
stroke, gathers well, and moves with the utmost ease 
to herself; what is rather singular, she runs with a 
loose rein ; she is true as steel, has a remarkable turn 
of speed, can be placed anywhere, and nothing can 
be finer than her disposition; a more bloodlike, 
honest mare was never brought to the post. Being 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 161 

in a public training stable, with Clarion and Mariner, 
her half brother, both of them winners at three and 
four-mile heats, Fashion has been compelled to " take 
her turn " in running for " the big things," else the 
amount of her winnings might have been increased 
as well as the number of 

HER PERFORMANCES. 

1840. 

Oct. 21, Camden, N. J Sweepstake.. .2 mile heats, .won $800 

Beating Amelia Priestman in the mud ; two paid forfeit. 
Oct. 27, Trenton, N". J Sweepstake. ..2 mile heats, .won 1,100 

Beating Fleetwood and Nannie ; two paid forfeit. 

1841. 

May 5, Union Course, L. I. .Purse 3 mile heats, .won 600 

Beating Sylphide, Prospect, Fleetfoot, and Meridian. 

May 19, Camden, N". J Purse 2 mile heats, .lost 

Beaten by Tyler, after winning 2d heat. Trenton won the 1st, 
and Tyler the 3d and 4th. Fashion second in 4th heat, Tele- 
machus being ruled out— time, 4.06— 3.52— 3.51£— 3.56. 

Oct. 7, Union Course, L. I.. .Purse 2 mile heats, .won 200 

Beating Trenton in 3.51 — 3.46^-, on a heavy course. 

Oct. 20, Baltimore, Md Purse 3 mile heats, .won 400 

Beating John Blount, Lady Canton, and Stockton ; course slip- 
pery. 

Oct. 28, Camden, N. J Purse 4 mile heats, .won 800 

Beating John Blount, who broke down in 2d heat, after winning 
the 1st and distancing Boston in 1st heat ; time, 7.42 — 7.48. 

Starting, in three trainings, seven times, and winning six 
races, one at four, and two at three-mile heats, 
winning $3,800 

We have noticed the fact of her not having been 
trained in the spring of her three-year-old year ; last 



162 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

spring, too, unfortunately, after her race at Camden 
she went amiss and was prudently turned out until 
the fall, when she came out again and won not only 
at two and at three-mile heats, but at four. Her last 
race is one of the best, at four-mile heats, ever run in 
the United States. In the only race she ever lost it 
will be seen that she was beaten by Tyler after win- 
ning the 2d heat ; Tyler won the 3d and 4th heats, 
in the last of which she was 2d, having beaten Tren- 
ton (who won the 1st heat) and Telemachus. From 
the fact of being turned out after this race and of her 
having since twice beaten John Blount, who easily 
defeated Tyler in a match for $5,000, it is fair to con- 
clude that on the occasion alluded to she was out of 
condition. The brilliant reputation she acquired by 
her last great performance, added to the confident 
impression everywhere entertained of her surpassing 
speed and extraordinary powers of endurance, are 
such, however, as to render quite gratuitous any ex- 
planation as to the cause of her having once been 
defeated. 

As Fashion's friends have accepted the match 
offered by Boston, it is to be hoped that each will 
come to the post in condition to run for a man's life. 
Fashion will be trained as usual by Mr. Laird, and 
Boston by Arthur Taylor ; Joe, no doubt, will throw 
his leg across the pig skin on the mare, while Gil 
Patrick, who has more strength, though not more 
science or coolness than Craig, will probably be put 
up again on Boston. The latter being an aged horse 
(9 years old) will have to carry 126 lbs., while the 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 163 

mare's appropriate weight being then 5 years old, 
will be 111 lbs. No match, the South against the 
North, has been made up at all comparable with this 
in interest, since that between Eclipse and Henry, 
which came off over the Union Course on the 27th of 
May, 1823. Each champion has, and is worthy of 
troops of confident friends, and each is in good hands. 
Let them come together in good condition — give them 
a fair field and no favor, and — who can name the 
winner 1 

At an early hour on Tuesday morning our streets 
were filled with carriages of all descriptions, wending 
their way to the ferries, while thousands upon thou- 
sands crossed over to the cars of the Long Island Rail- 
road Company. But after eleven o'clock the Company 
found it impossible to convey to the course the im- 
mense crowd which filled and surrounded the cars. 
****** 

The race commenced about two o'clock. For 
more than a quarter of a mile in front of the stands, 
the spectators ranged on the side of the course and of 
the field, presented one dense mass of thousands, 
through which the horses run the gauntlet. The 
course itself, owing to the rain of Sunday night, was 
not deemed quite so well adapted for speed as upon 
some other occasions ; still it was in fine order. The 
prospect of the weather, in the morning, was unfavor- 
able, but though at ten o'clock there was a slight sprink- 
ling of rain, it soon cleared off. The day was warm 
and pleasant, but with scarce a glimpse of the sun. 



164 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 

The betting was a shade in Boston's favor. Before 
the race came off, however, his friends were obliged, 
in order to get on their money, to lay 100 to 60, and 
in some cases 2 to 1. We never saw so little money 
bet on a race here of any importance ; of heavy bet- 
ting we did not hear of a solitary transaction, though 
the backers of each were sanguine. 

Having previously given in the preceding pages 
complete memoirs of the rival champions, with their 
pedigrees, characteristics, and performances, in detail, 
we have only to speak of their fine condition. Both 
stripped well. Boston was drawn unusually to our 
eye, but his coat looked and felt like satin. Fashion's 
curb, though quite prominent, did not seem to affect 
her a jot ; otherwise she was in condition to run for 
a man's life. "We need hardly say that she was admi- 
rably trained by Mr. Laird, nor that she was splendidly 
jockeyed by his son Joseph — a chip of the old block- 
Mr. Laird having formerly been a conspicuous jockey. 
Boston, of course, was managed by Col. Johnson, and 
ridden by Gil Patrick, in his usual superb style ; 
Arthur Taylor brought him to the post in unusually 
fine order. Gil Patrick rode the first heat without 
a spur. The jockeys having received their orders, 
mounted, and had their girths taken up another hole, 
brought their horses up in fine style without any 
assistance whatever from their trainers, and were off 
with a running start for the race. 

First Heat. — Boston on the inside went away with 
the lead at a rattling pace, the mare laying up within 
two lengths of him down the straight run on the back 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. FOSTER. 165 

stretch ; the half mile was run in 55 seconds. The 
same position was maintained to the end of the mile, 
(run in 1.53,) but soon after Fashion made play and 
the pace improved. Both made strong running down 
the back-stretch over the hill (opposite the half-mile 
post) and down the slight descent which succeeds, and 
though this seemed favorable ground for Boston, the 
mare gained on him, at this place, in this mile, and 
placed herself well up. Boston threw her off on the 
turn, and led through clear, running this mile in 1.50 A. 
The pace seemed too good to last, and Boston's friends, 
as he led closely down the back-stretch, were " snatch- 
ing and eager " to take any thing offered. Again 
Boston led through, this mile — (the 3d) being run in 
1.54, Fashion keeping him up to the top of his rate. 
The contest was beautiful and exciting beyond descrip- 
tion ; there was no clambering, no faltering, no dwell- 
ing on the part of either ; each ran with a long 
rating stroke, and a pace that kills. Soon after com- 
mencing the 4th mile Joe Laird shook his whip over 
her head and gave Fashion an eye-opener or two, 
with the spur, and not 100 yards from the ground 
where Boston took the track from Charles Carter, she 
collared and passed him in half a dozen strokes at a 
flight of speed we never saw equalled, except in the 
desperate brush at the stand between Grey Medoc and 
Altorf, in their dead heat ! When Fashion responded 
to the call upon her, and took the track in such 
splendid style, the cheers sent up from the " rude 
throats " of thousands might have been heard for 
miles ! Fashion made her challenge after getting 



166 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. P0RTEK. 

through the drawgate and took the lead opposite the 
quarter mile post. Boston, however, like a trump, as 
he is, did not give back an inch, and though it was 
manifest the Northern Phenomenon had the foot of 
him, he gave her no respite. He lapped her down 
the back-stretch for 300 yards, when Gil Patrick very 
sensibly took a strong bracing pull on him, and bottled 
him up for a desperate brush up the hill, where Eclipse 
passed Henry. Here Gil again let him out, but unfor- 
tunately he pulled him inside so near the fence that 
Boston struck his hip against a post, and hitting a 
sharp knot or a nail cut through the skin on his quar- 
ter for seven or eight inches ! He struck hard enough 
to jar himself very much, and we observed him to 
falter ; but he soon recovered, and though at this 
moment Fashion led him nearly three lengths, he 
gradually closed the gap round the turn to within a 
few feet. At this moment the excited multitude 
broke through all restraint in their anxiety to witness 
the termination of the heat, and the course was nearly 
blocked up ! On coming out through a narrow gaunt- 
let of thousands of spectators excited to the highest 
pitch, both horses very naturally faltered at the tre- 
mendous shouts, which made the welkin ring. Up 
the quarter stretch Gil made another desperate effort 
to win the race out of the fire. He applied his thong 
freely, while Joe Laird drew his whip on the mare 
more than once, and tapped her claret at the same 
time. Inside of the gate it was a " hollow thing " 
though Boston nearly closed the gap at the distance 
stand. Gil fairly caught Joe by surprise, but the 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 167 

latter, shaking his whip over her head, gave Fashion 
the spur, and she instantly recovered her stride, coming 
through about a length ahead with apparently some- 
thing in hand to spare, closing the heat in 7. 32 J — the 
fastest, by all odds, ever run in America. The time 
was kept on the Jockey Club stand by Messrs. Robert 
L. and James Stevens, and in the Judges' stand by 
Senator Barrow of Louisiana, Hon. Mr. Botts of Vir- 
ginia, J. Hamilton Wilkes, Esq., and the official 
Timers. "We took the time of each mile from the 
Messrs. S., between whom we stood. Mr. Neill, 
Major Ringgold, and other gentlemen of acknowledged 
accuracy as timers, stood in the same circle, and there 
was but a fraction of difference in the time each de- 
clared " by watches, too, not made in Kentucky ! " 
Messrs. S. made the time 7.33, but as they kept the 
time of the half, and in some cases of the quarter 
miles, their difference of that half a second from the 
Timers in the Judges' stand demonstrates the remark- 
able accuracy of the parties. 

The result of the heat was the more astonishing 
to a few of Boston's friends as no one ever supposed 
Fashion could make this time, though she might heat 
him. We were prepared to expect the best time on 
record, not only from the fact that we had been in- 
formed of the result of Fashion's private trial on the 
25th ult., out from a circumstance which we shall be 
excused, we trust, for alluding to here. After retiring 
to our room at the Astor House on Monday night, at 
a late hour, we had the pleasure of a " domiciliary 
visit" from Mr. Long, the owner of Boston, and 



168 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

several mutual friends. The " party " were attired in 
costumes that would be esteemed somewhat unique 
out of the circle of the Marquis of Waterford's friends, 
who ride steeple chases in their shirts and drawers ! 
Nevertheless, there was no lack of fun or spirit : in 
the course of an interesting " horse talk," Mr. Long 
gave us several " items," one of which was, that Bos- 
ton would run the first heat, " sure," in 7.34 ! Said 
Mr. Long, " He will run the first mile in about 1.53 ; 
the second in 1.52 ; the third in 1.54 ; and the fourth 
in 1.55." 

After he retired we made a memorandum of the 
time, as a curiosity after the race. And we refer to 
it now, to show that though beaten by the Northern 
Phenomenon, the gallant Boston amply sustained all 
the expectations formed of him from his trials and 
previous performances. He not only made vastly 
better time than he ever did before, but better time 
than ever had been made — time that quite eclipses 
the most wonderful achievements on the American 
Turf! The vaunted performances of the Southern 
" cracks " at New Orleans are almost thrown in the 
shade, wonderful as they are ! Had any one offered 
to beat the time of Eclipse and Henry on the Union 
Course, three to one would have been laid against it ; 
or had the friends of Boston been assured that he could 
run, as Mr. Long told us he could, in 7.34, his friends 
would have staked a million of dollars upon his win- 
ning the match ! For the first two miles, Boston, in 
the opinion of many shrewd judges, had the foot of 
the mare, and it is thought that had he trailed her as 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 169 

he did Charles Carter, the result of the first heat might 
have been different. But what shall be said of the 
incomparable daughter of Trustee and Bonnets 
o' Blue. Too much cannot be said of her, or of her 
jockey. She ran as true as steel, as game and hon- 
est a race as was ever recorded of a high-mettled 
racer ! 

Both horses cooled out well. Boston always 
blows tremendously, even after a gallop ; but he 
seemed little distressed. Neither was Fashion ; her 
action is superb, and as she came through on the 
fourth mile, it was remarked that she was playing her 
ears as if taking her exercise. She recovered sooner 
than Boston, and though her friends now offered large 
odds on her, Boston's were no less confident ; the 
seventh mile they thought would " fetch her." "We 
should not have been surprised to have seen both 
swell over the loins, nor to have found them greatly 
distressed. We examined them carefully after the 
heat, and state with great pleasure, that though they 
" blowed strong," they recovered in a few minutes, 
and came to the post again comparatively fresh. 
After the heat was over, the crowd rushed into the 
enclosed space en masse / an endeavor was made to 
clear a portion of the track of the multitude who 
had now taken possession of it, arid after great exer- 
tions a line was formed, through which the horses 
came up for the 

Second Heat. — Fashion led off with a moderate 
stroke, and carried on the running down the back 
stretch with a lead of about three lengths. After 
8 



170 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

making the ascent of the hill, Boston challenged, 
closed the gap, and lapped her. A tremendous shout 
arose on all hands at this rally, but as it subsided on 
the part of Boston's friends, it was again more tumul- 
tuously caught up by the friends of the mare, as she 
outfooted him before reaching the head of the quarter 
stretch. She came through — in 1.59 — three or four 
lengths ahead, and kept up her rate down the entire 
straight stretch on the rear of the course. After get- 
ting over the hill, Boston, as before, made a rush, and 
succeeded in collaring the mare, while she, as before, 
again threw him off, and led through by two or three 
lengths, in 1.57. Gil relieved his horse for the next 
600 yards, but instead of waiting for Fashion to ascend 
the hill at the half-mile post alone, he called on Bos- 
ton just before reaching it, and the two went over it 
nearly together ; no sooner had they commenced the 
descending ground, than, gathering all his energies for 
a final and desperate effort, Boston made a dash, and 
this time he succeeded in taking the track ! The scene 
which ensued we have no words to describe. Such 
cheering, such betting, and so many long faces, were 
never seen nor heard before. After being compelled 
to give up the track, Joe Laird, with the utmost pru- 
dence and good sense, took his mare in hand, and 
gave her time to recover her wind. This run took the 
shine out of Boston ! Instead of pulling him steadily, 
and refreshing him with a slight respite, Gil Patrick 
kept him at work after he took the track, and run this 
mile — the third — in 1.51J ! The pace was tremen- 
dous ! Nothing short of limbs of steel and sinews of 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POSTER. 171 

catgut could stand up under such a press ! On the 
first turn after passing the stand, Fashion, now fresh 
again, made a dash, and as Boston had not another 
run left in him, she cut him down in her stride, op- 
posite the quarter-mile post, and the thing was out. 
The race, so far as Boston was concerned, was past 
praying for ! If any thing can parallel Fashion's turn 
of speed, it is her invincible game. She now gradu- 
ally dropped him, and without another effort on his 
part to retrieve the fortunes of the day, she came 
home a gallant and easy winner in 7.45 ! Boston 
pulled up inside of the distance stand, and walked 
over the score ! As she came under the judges' 
cord extended across the course, Boston was exactly 
sixty yards behind, though he could have placed him- 
self in a better position had Gil called upon him. 

As Joe Laird rode Fashion back to the stand, 
the shouts were so deafening, that had not the Presi- 
dent of the Club and another gentleman held on to 
her bridle, she would not only have " enlarged the 
circle of her acquaintance " very speedily, but " made 
a mash " of some dozen of " the rank and file," then 
and there assembled. She looked as if another heat 
would not " set her back any." 

And thus did the Worth settle its account with the 
South, for the victory achieved by Bascombe over 
Post Boy. It was a magnificent race — one which 
will be remembered by every one who witnessed it 
" while Memory holds her seat." Though beaten, it is 
conceded on all hands that Boston has acquired a 
more " vast renown " by this wonderful race than by 



172 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POSTER. 

his thirty-live previous victories combined. He is 
worth more since than he was before the match. 
" All that can be said is, that Boston has beaten him- 
self, and Fashion has beaten Boston ! " The spirit of 
his owners on this, as upon a like memorable occasion, 
in May, 1823, is worthy of them, and of the Old Do- 
minion. Of one of them it has been well said, that, 
" like another Napoleon, he is nevermore to be feared 
than in his reverses ! " 

In congratulating each other upon the brilliant 
triumph achieved by the Northern Champion — now 
the Champion of the American Turf, let no one forget 
to do honor to those to whose admirable skill and judg- 
ment the North is mainly indebted for its victory. To 
Mr. Samuel Laird, the trainer and jockey of Fashion, 
and to his fine-spirited son, who jockeyed her in a 
style that would have conferred credit upon Jem 
Robinson, too much credit cannot be given. Nor let 
us forget that to the gallant Boston we are indebted 
for ascertaining the indomitable game and surpassing 
speed of our Champion. What else could have dis- 
played it in such bold and beautiful relief? Arthur 
Taylor brought him to the post in the very finest pos- 
sible condition, and Gil Patrick, his jockey, rarely 
distinguished himself more than upon this occasion. 
Most of our contemporaries state that he rode with 
spurs. He wore one only, and that only in the second 
heat. 

It is peculiarly gratifying to ourselves, though we 
have the pleasure of numbering all the parties among 
our personal friends, that Mr. Gibbons, the owner of 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 173 

Fashion, is among the oldest, most stanch, and most 
generous of the number. Unfortunately he was pre- 
vented from witnessing the race, in consequence of 
an accident which for some time has confined him at 
home. In his absence, another tried friend, Walter 
Livingston, Esq., the owner of Trustee — the sire of 
Fashion — was congratulated on all hands ; he has 
never doubted Fashion's success from the first. Col. 
TV". Larkin White, of Virginia, who was also in at- 
tendance, came in for a liberal portion of the good 
feeling displayed. Nor should it go unrecorded that 
Col. Johnson was by no means forgotten in the gen- 
eral outburst of congratulation. He " sold the stick 
which broke his own head," and no mistake, for after 
breeding Bonnets o' Blue from his own Sir Charles, 
and running her with great success, he parted with 
her to Mr. Gibbons, who bred from her a filly, which 
has beaten the best horse Col. Johnson has ever had 
in his stable, since the days of his favorite Reality, 
the renowned grand-dam of Fashion herself. 



Recapitulation : 

Tuesday, May 10, 1842.— Match, the North vs. the South, $20,000 
aside, $5,000 ft., four-mile heats. Henry H. Toler's and 
"William Gibbons' ch. m. Fashion, by Imp. Trustee, out of 
Bonnets o' Blue, Mariner's dam, by Sir Charles, 5 years, 
111 lbs Joseph Laird, 1 — 1 

Col. Wm. E. Johnson's and James Long's ch. h. Boston, by Timo- 
leon, out of Kobin Brown's dam by Ball's Florizel, 9 years, 
126 lbs Gil Patrick, 2— .2 



174: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 



First Eeat. 

Time of 1st mile . 

" " 2d " . 

" " 3d " . 

" " 4th " . 


Time of First Heat 



1.53 
1.501 
1.54 
1.55 

7.32£ 



Second Heat, 
Time of 1st mile . 

« u 2d «. _ 

" " 3d " . 
" " 4th " . 



1.59 
1.57 
1.51-2 
1.574 



Time of Second Heat . . 7.45 



At the Jockey Club dinner, after the match, Mr. 
Long offered to run Boston against Fashion, for $20,- 
000, $5,000 forfeit, four-mile heats, at any time to be 
agreed upon by the parties between the 25th of Sep- 
tember and the 25th of October next. He also au- 
thorized us to state in our Mctra, that he would bet 
$1,000 he wins the regular Jockey Club purse, four- 
mile heats, on Friday, on the Union Course ; $1,000 
that Boston wins the Jockey Club purse at Trenton, 
and $1,000 that Boston wins the Jockey Club at 
Camden, the week following. 

Last Day. — The attraction of three races, in one 
of which Boston was to contend with a son of Bonnets 
o' Blue, drew a large assemblage to the Course, and 
they were amply entertained by a race, if not so 
brilliant as that of Fashion on Tuesday, at least as 
critical, and apparently more doubtful. The sport 
commenced with a trial of speed at mile heats be- 
tween Tempest and Prima Donna, the colt winning 
in two heats, the latter of which was particularly in- 
teresting. Time : 1.55 — 1.55. Joe Laird jockeyed 
the winner, who, we regret to say, was sold at auction 
after the race, and was knocked down for the paltry 
sum of $180, to Capt. Shirley of the 7th Hussars, B. 
A., who has been in attendance upon our races. Other 
stock was offered, but we learn was bid in. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 175 

Now came off the great race of the day — the strug- 
gle between Boston and Mariner. The former was 
backed in the morning at 100 to 30, and before the 
start at 100 to 20, which were not taken with alacrity. 
Boston had the pole, but retained it for a few yards 
only, Mariner going to the front on the first turn, and 
leading by several lengths. The pace for the first 
mile was so slow as 2.13, Mariner cutting out the 
work ; he increased his rate in the second mile, which 
was run in about 2.05, opening the gap on the back 
side between Boston and himself, while Boston less- 
ened it a little in the straight, running in front. In 
the third mile, the pace was still further improved, 
both horses tasting the persuaders freely ; the fourth 
mile was yet more desperately contested, though 
without much change in the position of the horses. 
Boston, who was ridden by Gil, without spurs, was 
most severely scored in coming home ; but as it was 
all in vain, he pulled him up inside the distance stand. 
Mariner came in amidst the most tremendous shouts, 
in 8.13. 

The friends of Old Whitenose were undismayed 
by the loss of' the heat, and he still retained the call 
in the betting at about 100 to 80. As in the former 
heat, Joe Laird went away with the lead, and driving 
his horse at a much better pace than before. At the 
south turn in the commencement of the second mile, 
the old horse showed a taste of his old style of going, 
challenged for the lead, and gained it in a twinkling. 
No respite, however, was given by Joe to Mariner, 
who ran well up throughout that and the following 



176 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

mile, though the running was strongly forced by 
Gil Patrick. In the first quarter of the fourth mile, 
in very nearly the place where Fashion made her run, 
Joe went up with a rush, took the track with apparent 
ease, continued to urge his horse with whip and spur, 
widening the gap with every stride. Before they came 
into straight running, he was leading by six or eight 
lengths, and the race was apparently safe. But here 
Gil Patrick brought up his nag in a style quite in- 
comparable ; such a rush we do not remember ever 
to have seen made ; the old horse appeared to sym- 
pathize with his eager rider, and showed all of that 
speed which has won for him his great renown. Joe 
did not appear to be aware of his close proximity till 
he came within the gates, when he too found his whip, 
and plied it lustily. The thing was out, however, for 
nothing but a locomotive could have held its way with 
Boston, who in his turn came home, amid the enthu- 
siastic cries of the populace, in 7.46. Many watches 
made the time a half-second quicker. The heat, which 
was won by a length, was the most interesting we 
recollect ever to have seen. We have heard the rid- 
ing of Joe in the last mile criticized ; it is said he took 
too much out of his horse after he had passed Boston, 
by forcing the run as he did. Our impression is that 
he pursued the safer course, and that he lost the heat 
only in consequence of the tremendous speed which 
his antagonist exhibited in the quarter stretch. There 
is no difference of opinion as to the masterly style in 
which Gil took the heat ; it would compare favorably 
with any performance of Chifney or Robinson. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 177 

The third heat was scarcely less interesting than 
the previous one. Boston took up the running early, 
but was followed by Mariner at the best pace steel 
and catgut could get out of him. This severe chase 
continued throughout three miles and a half, when 
Mariner closed up a little. In coming into the quar- 
ter stretch home, Gil gave the pole a wide berth, and 
Joe immediately took advantage of it, and made a rush 
to take the lead on the inside. The struggle was now 
most exciting, as Mariner was evidently drawing rapid- 
ly upon his antagonist. At about the distance stand 
he lapped on to him, when Gil appeared to pull his horse 
towards the pole again, and thus crossed the path of 
Mariner and interrupted his stride. The pace was ter- 
rific, however, till the finish, Boston taking the heat, 
with his tail flirting directly in the face of his compet- 
itor. Time, 7.58$. A complaint was then made of foul 
riding against the winner, but it was not deemed by 
the judges to be substantiated, and the race and purse 
were accordingly awarded to Boston. All know how 
critical and hazardous is the attempt to pass a leading 
horse on the inside. Many believe that Joe Laird 
was authorized by the position of Boston to make 
the effort he did, and that for being crossed and 
crowded, he would have won the race by it. The 
rightful authorities decided otherwise, however, and 
we acquiesce in their decision without hesitation. 

The race will be long remembered as one of the 

most interesting that ever came off on Long Island. 

The performance of Mariner surprised all his friends 

by the unwonted speed which he displayed, while he 

8* 



178 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

ran as game a race as any horse that ever made a track. 
After the wonderful performance of Boston on Tues- 
day last, his race of yesterday will, we have no doubt, 
be esteemed one of the most remarkable in the annals 
of the Turf. 

The profound disappointment which was experi- 
enced by the Southern friends of Boston is plainly and 
honestly acknowledged in the columns of the Rich- 
mond " Whig " three days after the race. " Boston is 
beaten ! "We did not announce the defeat of the 
Whigs with a profounder sorrow. We feel a melan- 
choly on the occasion, akin to that inspired by the 
death of some great public benefactor. A noble steed 
— the boast and glory of his native State — the victor 
of a hundred fields — has been arrested in his illustrious 
career, and in one brief day been stripped of all his 
glories ; and that too by aparvenue — a thing of to-day 
— unknown yesterday, and destined, but for this un- 
fortunate occurrence, to be forgotten to-morrow. We 
wish we had lost money upon him ! That would have 
been an earnest of our sympathy for the noble sorrows 
which rend his generous bosom — and might, by the 
compliment implied, have tended to assuage the bitter- 
ness of his grief. But it is idle to indulge in lamenta- 
tions. The times are sadly out of joint, and no longer 
is the race to the swift or the battle to the strong. 
Boston is outstripped, and the Whigs overthrown ! No 
event has excited so much commotion in the city, 
since the news of the Revolution of the Palisades in 
Paris." 

It has already been stated that the bold and honor- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 179 

able course taken by the editor of the " Spirit " in 
regard to matters connected with this exciting race, 
had drawn upon him unmerited and low abuse ; in his 
paper of May 21st (which by the way is a proud speci- 
men of Mr. Porter's industry, as nearly ten of its wide 
columns consist of solid editorial matter) he notices the 
ungenerous comments upon his course in a spirit ex- 
ceedingly creditable to his courage and truthfulness, 
and which was pronounced a triumphant vindication 
of these qualities which with him were inborn and 
ineffaceable. He closes with these words : 

" "We have little left us in this world besides an humble repu- 
tation, and a character hitherto untarnished; We are in a posi- 
tion, however undeserved, of great responsibility, and oftentimes 
requiring the exercise of great judgment and the most delicate 
and adroit modes of expression — occasions where silence would 
be the worst possible course, and the obligation to say something 
can neither be shunned nor fulfilled by a hollow counterfeit. 
When we are so circumstanced and are compelled by a sense of 
duty to express our sentiments, we do not intend to look calmly 
on and see our ' good name filched from us ' because they may 
have conflicted with the interests of any man. And we now take 
leave to say, once for all, that when any reader of our sheet finds 
in its columns an editorial article that unfortunately clashes with 
his interests, he may be sure, and we beg of him to believe, that 
it was written under a sense of the highest obligations to waive 
all personal predilections, and disregard individual interests, for 
the general good. But if his charity cannot extend so far, let 
him not go so far as to calumniate us for telling the tare truth — 
let him not preach homilies on honesty to us because we do not 
suppress important facts that he may realize extravagant antici- 
pations — and let him not hope to muzzle the expression of our 
candid convictions or to forestall swift coming rumors by confid- 
ing to us as a secret what he well knows we must learn in a 



180 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

few short hours from a hundred sources. But if charity and con- 
fidence cannot go so far, and if any one still chooses to pursue a 
different course with us, he may rely upon it we shall ever be 
found ready and prompt to vindicate our conduct to the world, 
and by such means as lie in our power will we show our deter- 
mination of not tamely submitting to abusive charges and vindic- 
tive imputations, gross as they are groundless." 

About this time George Porter concluded an ar- 
rangement to become an associate editor of the New 
Orleans " Picayune." He still retained a lingering 
affection for bis original profession, which he hoped 
he should ultimately be able to resume in that city. 
The first intelligence we had of all this was communi- 
cated in a letter from George, dated at New York, 
October 20th, 1842, in which he stated his purposes, 
and that he was on the eve of sailing for New Or- 
leans ; he added : " My desire is to return exclusively 
to the law." In compliance with his request, we 
furnished him with a letter of introduction to the Hon. 
Balie Peyton, then U. S. Attorney for the Southern 
District of Louisiana, soliciting his aid and countenance 
in furthering the cherished object of Mr. Porter. 

On his arrival at New Orleans, he entered at 
once on his duties in the office of the " Picayune." 
In a letter of the 23d of March, 1843, he writes : 

" No dray horse on the levee works more steadily than I. I 
have the hang of the office at last, and have little difficulty ; 
but I pull most decidedly the laboring oar, if I except Kendall, 
who works like an engine of a hundred horse power, though 
much of his labor is given to revisals of what others may have 
written. * * * I shall hold fast, always being ready, how- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 181 

ever, to embrace any thing like a living in the law. As it is, I 
have not missed a day's work since I have been here. * * * 
So you see I am likely to live here as long as Yellow Jack will 
allow." 

" Here I am," said he in a letter of the previous November, 
" perched up in the St. Charles, some ten feet nearer heaven than 
any other spot of land, I believe, in the whole State of Louisi- 
ana. * * * I am grinding out inanities for the ' Picayune] 
which is a paper too neutral in its character — as well in religion, 
literature and criticism as in politics — to allow a Northerner to 
express therein such poor thoughts as may enter his dull 
brain. * * * Mr. Peyton has not yet reached New Orleans, 
nor is he expected much before the 1st proximo. Judge Porter 
resides in the Attakapas, a goodly distance hence, where he is 
now awaiting Mr. Clay's arrival, who will spend some days at 
Oak Lawn, and then both the ex-Senators will come to " N> .. 
Orleans. 

" Nothing definite in regard to my legal pursuits will be deter- 
mined till such time as I can see both Mr. Peyton and the 
Judge." 

It so chanced that a year or two before he started 
for the South, Francis T. Porter the youngest of the 
brothers, had returned to New York, after a pro- 
tracted residence in Mississippi, to the great delight 
and advantage of his brothers. Of more delicate or- 
ganization than either of his family, Frank, as his 
friends loved to call him, was of abundant spirit and 
talents — of irresistible will, precise habits, and the 
very soul of honor. In resolution and fixedness of 
purpose, he was superior to either of his elder broth- 
ers. A comparatively fragile frame seemed to require 
the hardening process of an active life, and he was 
accordingly educated in reference to becoming a mer- 



182 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

chant. In 1835, when about seventeen years of age, 
he entered a connting-honse in New York. Thus all 
the brothers, one by one, had migrated from the quiet 
scenes of childhood, and settled in the wilderness of 
a vast city. 

On reaching his majority, Frank became one of 
the firm of Davidson, Porter & Co. ; the partners 
being then well established at Amsterdam, Hind's 
County, Mississippi, to which place he at once re- 
moved. He writes on the 7th of February, 1837 : 
" Although the youngest of the family, I have wan- 
dered farther from the spot where our parents sleep 
than any. * * * My health is passable ; as well, 
perhaps, as I could expect after having the bilious 
fever five times this year ! " 

In subsequent letters he gives animating accounts 
of his business prospects, and facetiously alludes to his # 
election as one of the " Selectmen" and to the offer 
that he should be Postmaster. He devoted himself 
to business, until his impaired health warned him to 
leave the pestilential climate of Mississippi, and he 
again became a resident of New York in 1839. It was 
then that the natural taste for writing, so characteristic 
of the family, became confirmed, and the u Spirit of 
the Times " shared the benefit of his judicious the- 
atrical criticisms, and other productions of his pen. 

In the autumn of 1842 he received an appointment 
in the Custom House from Hon. Edward Curtis, the 
Collector of New York. The duties were agreeable, 
and he performed them with fidelity, until he was re- 
moved by the successor of Mr. Curtis, on account of 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 183 

his Whig principles. In the month of December, 
1846, he sailed for New Orleans with the purpose of 
again embarking in mercantile pursuits. His brother 
George was delighted at his unexpected arrival, which 
seemed almost providential ; for he had just written 
to him, urging his acceptance of a post in the office of 
the " Picayune." Frank wrote to William in refer- 
ence to this proposition : " If I do not get a mercantile 
offer this week, I shall accept it, until I can get one." 
He adds : " George is well, but looks very thin and pale 
— works very hard. He lives in good style, and has 
every thing about his house comfortable and elegant." 

In 1843 the " Picayune " reported the Fall races 
on the Louisiana course in New Orleans, and pro- 
nounced the race between Miss Foote, George Martin 
and George W. Kendall, which came off on the fourth 
day, as " the best three four-mile heats ever made in 
the world,"— time 7.36^—7.39— 7. 51J— Miss Foote 
being the winner. 

On this statement the " Spirit " thus comments : 

ui Wtne cheers for Miss Foote. f were duly proposed and 
responded to in the ' Spirit ' office, on "Wednesday morning last. 
Throughout the day the ' front office ' was crammed, while in the 
sanctum sanctorum of the editor there was not room for a man 
as thin as Calvin Edson. Three several times the report above, 
written by ' that othee gentleman ' for the ' Picayune,' was 
read aloud. The original report was surmounted by the caption 
of ' The Best Eace ever etjn in the "World ! ' which it is — 
in a cornucopia! "We have taken the liberty of altering that 
same caption. "We concede the point, however, that Miss Foote 
and George Martin have run ' the best three heats ' of four miles 
* ever run ' in this world or any other, though there are many 



184 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

sticklers for proper weight for age who will not. The races of 
Lady Olifden and Picton, of Grey Medoc and Altorf, and espe- 
cially that of Henry against Eclipse, when, though not quite four 
years old, he carried one hundred and eight pounds, have been 
discussed over and over again, in connection with this perform- 
ance of Miss Foote and George Martin. Assuming the English 
axiom that ' seven pounds is equal to a distance ' (or 240 yards 
in four miles), the difference in weight in Miss Eoote's favor gave 
her an advantage over Henry of about Five Hundred and Sixty- 
five yards! — nearly one-third of a mile in each heat. Miss 
Eoote's three heats were run in 17^ seconds less time than the 
three heats of Lady Clifden. She, as a 4 yr. old, carried 101 lbs. ; 
Miss Foote, two months later in the season, carried, as a 4 yr. 
old, 97 lbs. TVe do not, however, subscribe to the opinion that 
1 seven pounds is equal to a distance,' as a general rule, though 
it has obtained in England for more than half a century. In the 
races between Muley Moloch and Glaucus, 3 lbs. given to the 
latter enabled him to beat Muley Moloch, who had beaten him 
two days previous, and this in a race of two miles, when both 
were 5 yrs. old. Indeed, horses are now handicapped there with 
such consummate judgment [vide case of Charles Xllth and Hyl- 
lus] that Jem Eobinson, the famous jockey, wittily remarked not 
long since, in accounting for losing a closely contested race, that 
he lost it from having carried the key of the stable in his pocket ! 
" ' The only horse,' remarks the ' Picayune,' ' which has any 
title to assume an equality with Miss Foote is Fashion," 1 and then 
it goes on to state that ' the aggregate time of Fashion's two heats 
with Boston was two seconds slower than the two first heats ot 
the race there.' The 'aggregate!' Stuff! — as if the 'aggre- 
gate ' had any thing to do with the matter. Why, they ciphered 
the heats of a three-mile race in Kentucky not long since, in such 
an extraordinary way as to beat Eclipse and Henry's time at four- 
mile heats into fits ! Inasmuch as Miss Foote did not happen to 
win the first heat of ' her ' race, [won by George Martin ' in 7.3 6 1, 
by three or four open lengths,'] we are surprised the ' Picayune ' 
does not give George Martin, instead of Fashion, a 'title to as- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 185 

sume an equality with Miss Foote.' "What a compliment to the 
Northern Champion ! This grant to Fashion of a ' title to assume 
an equality ' with any horse on the American Turf is ' piling up 
the agony ' a ' leetle too mountainous ! ' 

" In another paragraph the ' Picayune ' states that ' the eight 
miles in Fashion's race with Boston were run in 15 minutes 
17^ seconds, while the two heats in this race [George Martin's 
and Miss Foote's] were run in 15 minutes and 15| seconds.' Here 
is the monstrous discrepancy of two seconds in a race, won by 
Fashion in two heats in the one case, while tioo horses were re- 
quired to make the time in the other. Moreover, Fashion as a 5 
yr. old, carried on the 10th of May 111 lbs., (though foaled so 
late as the 26th of April.) Miss Foote runs as a 4 yr. old on the 
24th of Dec, carrying 97 lbs., when seven days later she would 
have been rated at jive years old, and been obliged to take up ten 
pounds more, or 107 lbs. Fashion, less than five months later 
than Miss Foote, and at the same age, carried eoukteen pounds 
moee weight. She won her two heats in 7.32^—7.45, while 
Miss Foote lost the 1st heat of 'her ' race in 7.36|, and won the 
2d in 7.39. If she or George Martin could have run the 1st heat 
in 7.32|, does any one in his senses suppose either could have 
repeated it ' low down in the forties ' ? Fashion won her 2d heat 
with ease, 4 by exactly sixty yards,' while Miss Foote, after ' a 
desperate contest, under the spur, from end to end,' won by only 
' two lengths ' from George Martin, who having been passed 
' inside of the distance stand ' was ' taken in hand and galloped 
past the stand.' And notwithstanding all this, the ' Picayune ' 
gravely informs the friends of Fashion that she is ' the only 
horse which has now any title to assume an equality with Miss 
Foote ! ' This is really outrageous ; as Dogberry said, ' It is most 
tolerable and not to be endured.' " 



This criticism drew from William's especial friend, 
the Hon. Alexander Porter, of Louisiana, the follow- 
ing admirable letter : 



186 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

" Oak Lawn, January 23, 1843. 

" My Dear Sir : — I ought long since to have answered yours 
of the 30th November. But I have had a busy winter; Mr. 
Clay's visit to me, the crowds which thronged Oak Lawn dur- 
ing his stay, my trip with him to New Orleans, &c, &c, have 
interfered a good deal with my quiet and punctual habits. I 
saw George in the city, and had a good long talk with him about 
his prospects and intentions. He is doing better in the ' Picayune ' 
establishment at present, than he could if he had a license to 
practise law in his pocket. But whether greater success in the 
department which now exercises his talents (and they are very 
good) is an equivalent to the greater rewards which would follow 
distinction at the bar, is perhaps a question not unworthy of con- 
sideration. 

" He has written some very good accounts of the races here, 
for the paper to which he is attached, and I don't think you 
have done the exactly clear thing towards him. Your criticisms 
on his remarks about the comparative excellence of Miss Footers 
and Fashion's races are very ingenious, but, my dear sir, they are 
the arguments of a counsel in a cause, and not the judge who 
decides it. You call his taking the aggregate of the two heats 
stuff. Why you so name it, unless you mean good stuff I cannot 
see. If Miss Foote made eight miles in less time than Fashion, is not 
that an evidence of her superiority, ceteris paribus ? And is that 
in any way affected by another horse having beaten Miss Foote 
in one of the heats ? The Little Lady could have won the first 
heat, in the opinion of every one who saw it, had it not been for 
the great gap she most unadvisedly suffered the horse to make 
between them. As it was, she was only two lengths behind. 
And then this idea, now for the first time (I think) put forward, 
that her race is not of the value it appears at first blush to have, 
because she will have to carry more weight next year — I do not 
think there is any thing in that. Have you ever met with that 
as a reason given elsewhere why a race should be considered 
better or worse ? If it is a good one, it ought to have been 
mentioned this fall when Fashion won her two races. But to 
leave controversy, will you permit an old man, and one who loves 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 187 

you well, to make a few remarks to you of quite another char- 
acter? Your position at present in this country is in many 
respects an enviable one — it embraces high duties and it involves 
great responsibilities. You are in some respects the arbiter of 
horse reputation. Men look up to your opinions with deference, 
and they yield to them, because they believe them to be the 
result of intelligence and calm reflection. Nothing could shake 
you so soon in your high position, as an idea going abroad that 
your feelings were enlisted on one side or other of any matter of 
controversy. Hence language that would be perfectly appropriate 
in one of your correspondents will not do for you. Your reason- 
ing and your remarks must, if you expect to give satisfaction, take 
a judicial tone. That in a conflict of pride and opinion between 
the North and the South you should, unconsciously to yourself, 
feel enlisted in favor of the former, is inevitable. You live 
there, you hear those around you continually dwelling on the 
perfections of a noble animal; you see her — you witness her 
generous exertions, and you end by being in love with her. All 
this is as it should be. If you were otherwise, you would want 
those ingredients in your composition without which no man rises 
above the dull level of the ' sons of earth I ' But then, my good 
namesake, true wisdom consists in watching our strong qualities, 
and preventing them running into excess. And there is this addi- 
tional reason for your standing sentinel on your thoughts, that 
your paper is national, that it is meant by you for the whole 
country, and the topics of which it treats belong more to the 
South than to the North. 

" I think I see you smile at reading this sermon — perhaps ex- 
claim, "Well, this is quite droll, an Irishman preaching prudence to 
a Yankee. I plead guilty myself to all the errors I dare to find 
in you. I know if I lived in Jersey, I should think Fashion the 
best race-horse in the world, and if you lived here, my life on it, 
you would think Miss Foote a nonpareil. Just as if you had 
been born and educated in Spain, you would have proved a good 
Catholic, and I a good Mahometan if I had been reared in Tur- 
key. But then, I am not now a judge — you are. I can indulge 
my feelings — you must restrain yours. 



188 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POSTER. 

" I saw the great race in New Orleans so well described by 
your brother. It is very faithfully reported. The race since, 
between Reel and Miss Foote, I did not witness. It terminated 
as I expected. Under the circumstances, nothing else could be 
looked for. I rather think Reel can beat her any time two four- 
mile heats. But if they should be broken and a third one comes, 
then I do not believe there is an animal in America can prove to 
be a better nag. I crave your pardon for the heresy. But if 
Fashion should be able to do so, she must repeat in a very different 
style from what she has hitherto done. 

"If I did not know the character of your mind, I would 
apologize to you for venturing any counsel to one of your ex- 
perience. But my heart tells me my motives are pure and kind, 
and I know you have intelligence and feeling to appreciate them. 
" With constant regard, yours, 

"A. Poetee." 

The great foot-races, in which Gildersleeve and 
Greenhalgh were the respective victors, came off in 
1844: — the former making over ten and a half miles 
within the hour, and the latter accomplishing twelve 
miles in 68.48 — and were reported at great length by 
the editor of the " Spirit." " The interest of these races 
was not attracted to see the running. It arose from 
the accidental contact of several of the circumstances 
of the races with strong under-currents of national 
interest. It was a trial of the Indian against the 
white man on the point in which the red man most 
boasts his superiority. It was the trial of the purely 
American physique against the long-held supremacy 
of English muscular endurance. * * * The white 
man beat the Indian, the American beat the English." 
These are the words of Willis, who in the same con- 
nection, alluding to the editor of the " Spirit," calls 



• ' - I »■ 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 189 

him " the admired turf-chronicler, secretary (of the 
Jockey Club) and prophet, Porter the tall." 

On the 1st of March, 1845, the paper entered upon 
a new volume, with an unsurpassed number of cor- 
respondents in addition to hundreds of old ones ; yet 
in consideration " of the low price of stock and agri- 
cultural products generally " the subscription was 
reduced from ten to Rye dollars, its original price — a 
change, it may be added, that very materially in- 
creased its circulation among the farmers and stock 
breeders of the country. Perhaps no more appro- 
priate place than the present will occur for the intro- 
duction of the Editor's matured opinions on the im- 
portance of horses of pure blood to the farmer, and 
on kindred topics. 

In reply to a letter from Mr. Botts' " Southern 
Planter," urging the necessity of sustaining that spir- 
ited, talented and unrivalled sporting paper, " The 
Spirit of the Times," as the means of regenerating the 
Sports of the Turf, and achieving the reform and sus- 
taining the character of the thorough-bred in America, 
Mr. Porter prepared an admirable argument in sup- 
port of those great interests, which to this day remains 
unanswerable : 

" There is no room for doubt that ' over and above the policy 
of sustaining the popular sports of the country, every lover of 
the horse — every individual who has occasion for the services of 
this useful animal (as who has not ?) is deeply interested in the 
regeneration of the sports of the Turf.' We shall endeavor to 
demonstrate that for daily service and common use, the most 
enduring, active, vigorous and handsome horses are those who 
have a generous strain of pure blood coursing through their 



190 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 

veins. We shall prove that the surpassing speed and game of 
the American Trotter, whose fame extends throughout the world, 
dates no farther back than the introduction of thorough-bred 
stock into the New England States and remote sections of New 
York and Pennsylvania. This stock went from Long Island and 
New Jersey ; it consisted mainly of young thorough-bred colts, 
which being unsuited for the race-course, were disposed of at 
low rates to country breeders ; occasionally, too, a thorough or 
three-quarter bred mare found its way into the country, the 
result of all which was that every year or two a Dutchman, a 
Eipton or a Confidence made his appearance. 

" Fifteen years since thousands of dollars would have been 
wagered that no horse in the world could trot a mile within 
three minutes ; now, in this city alone, there are dozens of road- 
sters in daily use which can do it before a wagon, while there 
are twenty in the Union which can trot a mile in 2.30 ! Twelve 
years ago to drive a horse seventy miles between sun and sun 
would have been deemed a remarkable performance, but since 
strains of the blood of Messenger, Mambrino and Eclipse have 
been introduced into our road stock at the North, hundreds of 
horses can be found which can travel from eighty to ninety miles 
without distress. There are several horses now in this city, 
Philadelphia and Boston, which can travel one hundred miles 
in a day without injury. The use of thorough and half-bred 
horses for domestic purposes has already become so common in 
England that few others are employed for the road. The half- 
bred horse is not only much handsomer, but his speed and powers 
of endurance are infinitely greater. His head and neck are light 
and graceful, his limbs fine, his coat glossy and soft as satin, 
while his action is spirited, and his courage and stamina sufficient 
to carry him through a long journey without his falling off in 
condition, or to undergo an extraordinary trial of speed and 
game without distress. The ordinary cocktail is in most instances 
a mere brute, that in travelling sinks daily in strength, losing his 
appetite, and, of course, his flesh and action, so that at the termi- 
nation of a ten days' journey he is nearly knocked up ; he can 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 191 

travel but about forty miles per day, and requires the whole day 
to perform the distance. 

" In the course of the year 1843, probably not less than six 
thousand thorough-ored mares, and as many more of cold blood, 
were bred to horses of pure pedigree in the United States. Out 
of the vast produce of these mares, not above 1,500, if so many, 
will ever come upon the Turf, probably, so that more than one- 
half will eventually find their way into harness. The colts of 
good form, that have plenty of bone and substance, will, of course, 
oust the common tackies that infest country taverns, while the 
others will be used for the saddle and the road. The result will be 
that in a few years the stock now in use will be supplanted by 
horses of superior action, wind and courage, whose greater beauty 
will Dot be more apparent than their better style of going and 
their unequalled powers of endurance. 

" The breeders of New England and Western New York have 
already became so sensible of the absolute necessity of an infu- 
sion of ' blood ' for the improvement of their common stock, that 
they will only send their mares to thorough-bred stallions, or 
those which claim to be so. Abdallah, Andrew Jackson and 
other popular trotting stallions, though not quite thorough-bred, 
command as high a price in the market, and for their services in 
the stud, as fashionably bred and distinguished performers on the 
Turf. A fine-looking gelding, a son of Abdallah, readily com- 
mands $500, while he has several sons and daughters in this 
vicinity, which can be sold at auction for $2,500 each! At 
the New York State Fair held at Albany in '42, there were 
not less than fifteen thorough-bred stallions exhibited, some 
of which were remarkably large, active and handsome. It 
is from such horses as these, crossed upon the common mares 
of the country, that the superb 'Northern Carriage Horses 1 
are derived. We know of nearly one hundred mares of most 
fashionable lineage which are owned in this and the Eastern 
States, which for several years have been breeding stock for the 
road. To these and such as these is the Sporting World indebted 
for its Lady Suffolks, its Forrests, its Battlers and its Pizarros. 

" As a national benefit, it may be asserted by some — and the 



192 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

'Planter' would seem to take this ground — that we do not 
require that breed in use for the Turf technically termed the 
'blood horse.' To this a familiar intercourse with the most 
eminent breeders and turf-men of the Union, combined with no 
inconsiderable knowledge of horses and their relative powers, 
authorize us to dissent. Our extent of country and climate re- 
quire horses of great action and durability, not encumbered with 
unnecessary masses of flesh or cumbrous bone, forming an over- 
weight of carcass. Our farmers in many situations have a great 
extent of road to pass over, in order to reach a market, and that 
too, upon ground often bound as hard as marble by the winter's 
frost, or parched dry, and rendered equally obdurate by the sum- 
mer's sun : upon roads of this description, or such as are macad- 
amized, (now coming into general use,) no heavy -moulded animal 
can for any length of time bear to be urged beyond a walk or 
slow trot, without encountering much bodily distress, and per- 
manent injury of both feet and limbs. IsTor are any, except such 
as possess a large share of 'blood,' equal in extreme warm 
weather to the task of a mail stage, or other duty where expedi- 
tion and continuance are required. The coarse, heavy horse will 
not answer in a warm climate; the varying face of our country and 
the heat of our summer months are ill adapted to him, and his slow, 
tedious movement equally repugnant to the genius of our people. 

" In regard to selection, we cannot but recommend adhering 
as closely as possible to such as come nearest in pedigree or 
purity of blood, symmetry, form, apparent strength and action, 
to those in use for the Turf, denominated ' blood horses,' as most 
adequate to long and severe exertion, under which horses of 
inferior description so frequently sink for want of that constitu- 
tional stamina and inherent fortitude, that those of high pedi- 
gree and pure ' blood ' so eminently possess, 

" In opposition to what we have here set forth as an estab- 
lished and incontrovertible fact, we shall no doubt be told by 
some, that the ' blood horse ' has not sufficient bone and strength 
for the generality of business purposes. Upon this point we ask 
leave to introduce a few remarks. This want of bone, so fashion- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 193 

ably and eternally echoed and transmitted from one affected con- 
noisseur to another, without the least knowledge of the external 
conformation of the animal, or the most distant idea that any 
difference exists in the strength of bones of the same size, taken 
from horses of different breeds, or knowing that two bones 
exactly of the same dimensions, the one appertaining to the 
' blood horse,' and the other one of the common breed, bear no 
comparison in point of either solidity, weight, fibre, or strength, 
or that the muscular and ligamentous appendages of the former, 
the very source of action and power, are much larger and 
stronger than those of the latter— =that the use of bones are prin- 
cipally to extend the parts and support the frame— that, being 
in themselves inactive, the excess beyond what is thus required 
operates as dead weight to be carried along ; thus an undue pro- 
portion, in place of being an acquisition, forms an encumbrance, 
and hence arises the folly which we daily witness of selecting 
for severe service horses over-loaded, like cart-horses, with this 
same oony structure, whose undue weight and inactivity of parts 
render them totally unfit for either rapidity of motion or con- 
tinuance. 

u There are some who in their selections affect a preference 
for such as are not of pure ' blood,' but a cross of the breed, 
between the thorough-bred and the common horse, in England 
technically termed ' cocktails,' and an indifference for the posses- 
sion of those high-bred qualifications which are indispensably 
necessary to constitute a runner; while they decline purchas- 
ing, at any price, such as are incapable of great performance and 
continuance ; nor will any other, at this day, bring a price in a city 
market that will defray the expense of rearing. "We ask such 
connoisseurs, if every good racer does not possess these innate 
qualifications ? And while we admit that there are many valu- 
able horses of the ' cross-dreed^ we assert that they derive the 
very perfections which constitute their worth, not from the 
parent stock of the common horse, but solely from the species 
which we recommend ; hence it follows, that before we can 
obtain even a ' cross-breed ' with the necessary acquirements, we 
9 



194 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 

must be in possession of parent stock having these same requi- 
sites, only to be obtained from the ' blood horse ' in his greatest 
purity. 

" We do not hesitate to assert, that ' blood horses ' of proper 
size, formation, and symmetry, full fifteen hands (five feet) and 
upwards in height, of full and just proportions and muscular 
appearance, bred from such as are known to possess constitutional 
stamina and fortitude sufficient to enable them, when carrying 
the weight of 126 to 140 lbs,, to continue their rate for four 
miles, and to repeat the same distance after a short interval of 
thirty or forty minutes, will exceed in speed, strength, or dura- 
bility, whatever horses may be brought against them, on the 
road, in the field, the chase, or any service whatever; and 
when offered in market, either at home or abroad, command 
prices more than double that of any other class. How is this 
superiority to be tested, to enable us, with unerring certainty, 
to select the best for breed ? for among the good there is always 
a preference. How has this test been made, for the last hundred 
years and more, in England, whose horses at this day excel all 
others on the globe ? We answer with confidence, by course 
racing, and that only. Premiums for the production of the best 
and most elegant horses have of late years been given by our 
agricultural societies, but without any test of excellence or guid- 
ance, other than the whim and caprice of those from year to year 
nominated to decide as to the perfections or imperfections of a 
medley of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine, among which motley 
group this noble animal has been doomed to pass in review, and 
to be adjudged and criticized upon by those more conversant with 
the bristly tribe, and who value things by the weight and 
bulk only ! We would ask if even this good intention on the 
part of agricultural societies produoes any material improve- 
ment ? We think not. We would next call attention to the high 
prices which have been paid to the State of New York by her 
sister States, and institute an inquiry as to the cause of such 
prices as $15,000 in one case, $10,000 each in two different in- 
stances, $5,000 each for several, $4,000, $3,000, and $2,000 each 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 195 

for many, $1,500 and $1,000 for numbers — $500 is an every-day 
offer for roadsters — and, at this time, $2,000 each has been 
offered and refused for two. Let candor say whether such prices 
could have been had, and such sums realized, by a few spirited 
breeders, in the State of New York and New Jersey, but for 
the partial exemption from the prohibition of horse racing, which 
the legislative body of the former were prevailed upon to grant, 
about the year 1821, to the favored county of Queens, Long 
Island. If, again, an inquiry is instituted as to what particular 
section of the State produced those valuable animals, it will be 
found to be the identical district or immediate vicinity of that 
exempted from the penalties imposed by the otherwise general 
law enacted to prevent horse racing ; and the adjacent State 
of New Jersey, also benefited thereby, has, of late, totally re- 
pealed her prohibitory statute. "We would further ask, by what 
test the superiority and extraordinary value of these particular 
horses was discovered ? The answer is obvious — the fact noto- 
rious — course racing ! 

" That the excellence or superiority sought for can in no way 
be tested except by actual trials, the most impartial and disin- 
terested experiments, during a lapse of many years, have fully 
demonstrated. For this purpose course racing was originally 
instituted, and for more than a century and a half has been 
adopted and pursued with unremitting zeal in Great Britain ; 
where the government, aware of its importance in a national 
sense, promote it by giving a bounty in numerous cases, under 
the appellation of Queen's Plates, yearly or semi-annually run for 
upon all the principal courses in the kingdom, and in almost all 
of the British Colonies. Thus encouraged and countenanced, 
their horses, whether taken into view for the field, the road, or 
the army, have, from judicious selections for breeding, afforded 
by this same test, arrived at a state of pre-excellence hitherto 
unheard of, and far surpassing the famed Arabian or Barbary 
horse, from which they derive their origin. Witness the ever- 
memorable battle of Waterloo, upon which hung the fate of 
Europe, decided, in a great measure, by the vast superiority of 
the British cavalry, which, while it roused the fears, drew forth 



196 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

the admiration of the greatest captain of the age ! ' Eegardez 
ces beaux chevaux gris — quelles terrible chevaux I ' he exclaimed, 
as they swept through his ranks. On the other hand, take a 
retrospective view of the horses in the State of New York and 
the adjoining State of New Jersey, as they were twenty-five 
years back ; view the scanty sample of improvement made, or 
permitted to be made, save in a certain favored district of New 
York, contemplate what the whole, or rather, those in distant 
parts of the State, in all probability, would have been at this 
date but for legislative interference, and picture to yourself 
what, in a comparative sense, they actually are. Compare the 
superb steeds that carried dismay through Napoleon's ranks, 
with the miserable louches our brave soldiers had to mount dur- 
ing either the Revolution or the late war, and what of necessity 
our army would be equipped with, were they even at this late 
day compelled to take the field ! What a contrast ! ' If I wished 
to ruin a province,' said the Great Frederick of Prussia, * I would 
send a philosojmer to govern it,' 

{{ We may take occasion hereafter — though we should much 
prefer to leave the matter with our numerous corps of intelligent 
correspondents— to suggest some means for the general revival 
of the Sport of the Turf in the North as well as in the Old 
Dominion. Racing cannot go down! The immense amount 
of capital invested in Blood Stock in the United States-^n<?£ less 
than Five Millions of Dollaes ! — absolutely forbids it! Every 
one acquainted with the Turf is aware that a three-year-old colt 
like Ruffin, The Colonel, and others, will command $5,000 at any 
moment — that a nonpareil like Fashion is worth $10,000 (though 
she would not be parted with under $12,000) — that a young 
brood mare like Delphine is worth $3,500 or more, and that a 
stallion of the pretensions of Priam, Eclipse, or Medoc, in their 
prime would readily fetch $15,000, notwithstanding ' the hard 
times.' Break up your breeding and training establishments and 
Blue Dick would not sell for $300 !— Grey Medoc and Trustee 
would be worth each, about $600 !— Bonnets o' Blue would com- 
mand at auction $100, possibly ! 

" It behooves the friends of the good cause to give this matter 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 197 

their grave and earnest consideration. The sports of the Turf, 
like every thing else, have been seriously affected by the monetary 
reverses of the country. But we have now, we trust, seen the 
worst, so that ' things must mend.' Already business and confi- 
dence are reviving throughout the Union. "With the steady 
advance in the price of real estate, and the great staples of the 
country, that of Blood Stock should keep pace. ' A long pull, 
a strong pull, and a pull altogether,' by the parties interested, 
will effect so desirable an object. Will they unite with us, and 
put their shoulders to the wheel ? " 

The number of subscribers was never larger than 
in 184:7, and the correspondents of the paper had 
increased forty-fold. Instead of the usual array of 
literary articles from the British magazines, which 
had so long enriched its columns, the editor substi- 
tuted original sketches and letters written expressly 
for the " Spirit," giving a preference to those which 
were thoroughly American, and presenting the pecu- 
liar characteristics and illustrating scenes and inci- 
dents of the " Universal Yankee nation," from the 
St. Lawrence to the Rio Grande. 

The officers of the army, and the same remark 
will apply to those of the navy, not only liberally con- 
tributed to the " Spirit," and gave it the material aid 
of a very general subscription, but also from their 
strong personal attachment to the Editor, forwarded to 
him all manner of curiosities, both natural and arti- 
ficial, which were obtained by them in their expedi- 
tions, so that his " Curiosity Shop," as he called it, 
had a " charm," which would well compare with that 
in the Witches' Caldron, in Macbeth : 



198 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

" Eye of newt, and toe of frog, 
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, 
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, 
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing." 

One of his gallant friends presented to him a pair 
of Sonth American or Mexican stirrups ; the editor 
writes of them : 

" They were of wood, and weighed about five pounds each ! 
elaborately carved on three sides; the foot cannot project 
through them, and no one could imagine for what possible pur- 
pose they were intended, unless informed. They no more resem- 
ble an American stirrup than does a chest of drawers a coal 
scuttle, a bet on the Presidential election, or any thing else in 
which a man has a chance ' to put his foot in it ! ' " 

From the great variety of queer things which the 
thoughtfulness of familiar friends heaped upon him, 
he selects the names of a few, and thus acknowledges 
the receipt of Sherred India Rubber Pantaloons, that 
were warranted to stretch to the crack of doom ; a 
pair of Saxon "Wool Socks, knit expressly for him by 
the industrious wife of a Mississippi planter ; colored 
maps of the battles in Mexico ; a superb collection 
of artificial flies ; Limerick hooks ; a dozen " drop- 
pers ; " an assortment of colored gut " leaders ; " a har- 
poon and lance, used in the whale fishery ; the head 
of a pike, which, when dressed, weighed twenty-two 
pounds ; a dozen cane fishing-rods from South Caro- 
lina ; the skin of an enormous bear ; half a dozen 
skins of the White Fox and Hare of Newfoundland ; 
the white partridge from Nova Scotia ; a tandem 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 199 

whip ; the skin of an immense Pelican, from C. D. 
Bunce, Esq., of !N". O. ; colored engravings of the 
Kevolutionary scenes of Paris, from G. "W. Kendall, 
Esq. ; a sash worn by the late Capt. S. H. Walker, 
of the Texas Bangers, who was killed in Mexico, from 
Lt. Stonehall of the IT. S. K. Service ; and lastly, a 
snake from North Carolina with " thirty-one rattles 
besides the button;" "this pleasant musical box," 
says the Editor, " being seven inches in length." 

In this connection, though not in chronological 
order, we insert his acknowledgment of a " service 
of plate " and other articles of valne, which is in his 
own peculiar and quiet style of humor : 

PRESENTATION OF PLATE TO THE EDITOR. 

" The Editor of the ' Spirit of the Times ' begs leave to offer 
his acknowledgments to his friends in Alabama, Lonisiana, Mis- 
sissippi, Kentucky, Virginia, and N"ew Jersey, for their very- 
acceptable present of a ' Service of Plate ' — or rather of ' Plates,' 
which ' have done the State some service.' Connoisseurs in 
antique gold or silver Plate may call our taste in question, as 
may the admirers of fine Engravings, but we, notwithstanding, 
take occasion to express the belief that no specimen of the 
Fine Arts, nor of the Goldsmiths' art, will for an instant sustain 
a comparison with the pieces of Plate presented us as a mark 
of the distinguished consideration of the donors. Be it known, 
then, that the ' Plates ' presented us are of neither gold nor silver 
— neither draughts nor drawings, but the ' Plates,' or ' pumps ' 
worn by High-Mettled Kacers in their exhibitions of game and 
speed, in place of shoes ! 

" We have received two of those worn by Mr. Gibbons' 
Fashion, the Champion of the American Turf, in her great match 
with Long and Johnson's Boston* and two also of those worn 



200 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

by him on the same memorable occasion. One of each is in- 
tended for the editor of ' Bell's Life in London,' after they shall 
have been properly set and lettered, with the number of races 
run by the rival champions of the The North and The South. 
The time of ' The best race ever run in America ' — 7.32| — 7.45 — 
will not be omitted. 

" We have also received one of the plates worn by Mr. Bos- 
well's Jim Bell of Kentucky, and one of those worn by Col. 
Bingaman's Sarah Bladen of Mississippi, when they ran four- 
mile heats at New Orleans, in 7.37 — 7.40 ! 

" We also have one of those worn by Mr. Baird's Miss Foote 
of Alabama, when she beat Earl of Margrave, Hannah Harris, 
and Luda, in 8.02—7.35 ! 

" Also one of those worn by Mr. Wells' Reel of Louisiana, 
when she beat Luda and John E. Grymes, in 7.40 — 7.43 ! 

" The above, added to one worn by Messrs. Kenner's Grey 
Medoc, of Louisiana, in his race beating Altorf and Denizen, in 
7.35—8.19—7.42—8.17, makes our 'Service of Plate' sufficiently 
complete for the accommodation of ' a pleasant party,' which in 
number should not be less than the Graces nor more than the 
Muses ! This ' plate ' of ours is of a description of ' ware ' that 
will not readily wear out ! Indeed, it has seen service already, 
and has withstood a deal of ' wear and tear ! ' Those of Boston 
and Fashion especially, have received some hard knocks, and in 
size, as compared with those worn by Miss Foote and Keel, they 
are as ' fish dishes ' to ' dessert plates.' In weight one of Fash- 
ion's plates exceeds that of Jim Bell and Keel added together. 
Sarah Bladen has the largest foot, and Miss Foote the smallest ; 
the latter's plate weighs exactly one ounce! The plates of 
Fashion and Boston are of the same size ; for a fore and hind 
foot they weigh five ounces." 

Again, he writes : 

" "We have to acknowledge this week the receipt of an addi- 
tion to our collection of Sporting Curiosities of extraordinary 
interest. We are indebted for it to Mr. Gilbert W. Patrick 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 201 

of this city, better known to the Sporting "World as ' Gil Patrick] 
one of the most distinguished jockeys that has figured on the 
American Turf. ' Gil ' has given us nothing less than one of his 
steel-plated Spurs, which he wore constantly from the time he 
rode Post Boy in his match with Bascombe in 1836, up to the 
day when he rode Boston in his match with Fashion ! It will 
be recollected that on the last occasion Gil rode the gallant 
veteran with a single spur ; that identical Spur is before us as 
we pen this paragraph ; it has not been worn since, its mate 
having been lost. The rowel is still discolored with the blood 
and sweat of old Boston, and there are half a dozen short chestnut 
hairs attached to its point, each one as precious in our eyes as 
those Benedick offered to bring 'from the Great Kham's beard.' 
How much ' claret ' has Gil ' tapped ' with this little instrument, 
and how many glossy sides has he ' tickled ' with it, between '36 
and '42 ! What shouts have been raised, what enthusiasm ex- 
cited, what fortunes won and lost, what ' vast renown ' achieved, 
by ' the still small voice ' of this ' eloquent persuader ' ! Omega, 
Blue Dick, Santa Anna, and Argyle, have made some of their 
nio^t brilliant races under the magic touch of Gil's heel when 
armed with this ounce of steel. Though he may never have felt 
its tickling, Monarch for two seasons was on intimate terms with 
it, while Atalanta and Emily, Eocker and Blacknose, Lord of 
Lorn and Treasurer, must have retained for some time a keen 
sense of Gil's use of it. "Wonder and Fordham, with Charlotte 
Busse, Zenobia, and many more, were no little indebted to it for 
the character they maintained on the Turf. Armed with this 
little spur, Gil 'won golden opinions from all sorts of people,' 
and we regard it, as do many who have seen it, as one of the 
most interesting articles in our collection." 

Mr. Porter was solicited to make a compilation of 
humorous articles from the " Spirit," and having con- 
sented, he published " The Big Bear in Arkansas " 
and other sketches, illustrative of characters and inci- 
dents in the South and West, illustrated by Darlej. 



202 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

The volume contained twenty-one sketches or stories, 
not unworthy of Hood or Dickens, and met with a 
rapid sale, as a capital specimen of amusing narratives 
and vivid descriptions. Besides this addition to his 
ordinary labors, in 1846 he edited the English work, 
" Guns and Shooting," by Col. Hawker ; how faith- 
fully he accomplished it may be inferred from the 
fact that out of four hundred and fifty -nine pages, two 
hundred were American and original. It was the 
first purely sporting work ever published in the United 
States, and was in every respect a well-executed 
manual for the sportsman ; by universal consent, it 
was considered as conferring infinite credit on the 
editor. 

As Mr. Porter felt a deep sympathy for the friends 
of manly recreation, he watched with lively interest 
the organization of a Yacht Club in New York, 
chronicled its movements, and frequently acknowl- 
edged the great pleasure he had received from the 
civilities and consideration which it had extended to 
him. We well know that he loved to " wet a line," 
but doubt if he ever fancied a " wet jacket " on board 
any kind of craft. In one of his papers, he gave an 
animated picture of the Annual Regatta of the Club, 
which he closed with this playful remark : " It is all 
very well, this talk about Demosthenes and Cicero, 
but the ancients never heard Mr. Blunt when present- 
ing a Cup to the winner of a New York Yacht Club 
Regatta, nor his response." At the next race, each 
yacht was to be manned exclusively by members of 
the Club : " A race with Gentlemen Riders " writes 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 203 

Mr. Porter, " will be nothing to this in excitement. If 
we could not wade out or swim anywhere where it is 
moist, we should immediately order a life-preserver ! " 
Akin to this interest in sports connected with phys- 
ical training was his prompt support of all rational 
amusement ; and though not a constant or ardent play- 
goer, he was from the start a discriminating friend 
of the Drama ; the following article is proof of his 
appreciation of the stage and solicitude for the comfort 
of those who gave it attractiveness and character : 

11 A Theatrical Fund Association. — Although for the last 
few years the genius of invention, that characteristic of the 
American nation, seems to have expended itself in the creation 
of charitable associations — in a popular display of individual 
sympathy, still it is remarkable that we have but few institutions 
of a definite and beneficial nature. While we have zealously 
organized philanthropic combinations of every imaginable species, 
we appear to have forgotten to provide for those of our fellow- 
beings, whose professions are of the more elevated o'rder of life — 
more especially the followers of Literature and the Drama. 
"With commendable exertions we act as guardians to the tem- 
poral welfare of every aspirant to mendicity, and, with a like 
zeal, we take charge of the spiritual concerns of every afflicted 
member in our community, and, while all these things are pub- 
licly applauded, we omit a consideration of the sufferings of 
another class of fellow-men. ' The very life of the actor, subject 
to the whims and oddities of the public taste, the foibles and 
follies of vulgar prejudices, renders him in a great degree depend- 
ent not only on his own exertions, but on the benevolence of the 
community. The stage may be, with justice, termed the charnel- 
house of intellect — the crypt wherein are annually buried 
many bright and aspiring minds, enticed from the walks of 
every-day life by the pomp and glitter of a scenic world. We 
gaze with rapture on the actions of the actor — the minister 



204 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

of our happiest pleasures, and little do we dream of the vicissi- 
tudes of the inward life of him, whose external aspect is so in- 
viting. If we look at the biographies of any of those who have 
from time to time swayed the sceptre of the theatrical monarchy 
— Garrick, Kean, Moliere or Talma — we always find them 
keenly alive to the afflictions and necessities of their comrades — 
the flickering and uncertain careers of their associates. With- 
out doubt these considerations, based on the hardship of their 
early existence — their toil and labors to attain their subsequent 
reputation, induced Garrick and Moliere to urge the establish- 
ment of the Drury Lane fund, and that of the Comedie Fran- 
caise. The self-same causes which led to the institution of these 
associations in England and France, exist, in a greater degree, in 
our country, and therefore we would deem the establishment of 
similar funds not only as an act of justice, but of absolute neces- 
sity. We have no doubt but that, in the furtherance of a 
national dramatic fund, the many eminent tragedians, comedians, 
and vocalists now in the Union would be happy to contribute 
their aid, and for the consummation of this wholesome charity, 
the public will never be remiss in seconding the efforts of a few 
leading men. The first movement must, as a matter of necessity, 
come from the actors themselves ; to their listlessness can be 
alone attributed the non-success of prior schemes ; it is for them 
to digest and arrange the mode of operation of the society, as 
being far better qualified to judge of the wants of a theatrical 
community, than those who have never entered within the 
precincts of the actor's world. When once firmly instituted on a 
liberal basis, one neither too diffuse nor too exclusive, we can 
assure them of a response on the" part of the public. Of the 
success of such a fund we are sanguine, as benefiting not only 
the actor, but the drama in all its manifold branches." 

Within something like a twelvemonth, death had 
deprived Mr. Porter of some of his most distinguished 
friends and safe counsellors. Among them was Judge 
Duval, of Maryland, whose familiarity with the Turf 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 205 

for more than, forty years was only equalled by his 
accurate knowledge of Jurisprudence. His death 
was followed by that of John Boardman, Esq., of 
Alabama, whose valuable essays on breeding, train- 
ing, and other kindred topics, contributed to the in- 
terest and usefulness of the " Spirit " and " Register," 
and were republished in England with signal com- 
mendation. The Hon. Alexander Porter was the 
next honored friend whose loss he deplored most 
acutely ; then succeeded that of Henry Inman, one 
of his best and choicest friends, on the 24th of Janu- 
ary, 1846 ; they were very differently organized, yet 
had many kindred tastes, and for years were united 
by a strong brotherly attachment, which death only 
could break asunder. Mr. Porter thus feelingly la- 
ments the event : 

" A great and good man has sunk to rest — one who has illus- 
trated the genius of his country by the most imperishable monu- 
ments. Henet Inman is no more ! Karely gifted as he was by 
nature, his acquirements were of such a character, that he would 
have ennobled any station to which he might have been called, 
or graced any circle into which his enthusiastic and lofty im- 
pulses might have thrown him. This is not the time to write 
his epitaph ; eminently appreciated as he was by his country- 
men generally, not to speak of the almost idolatrous regard enter- 
tained for him by all those who came within the range of his 
personal acquaintance and intercourse, yet not until his memory 
is hallowed by time, and we are made fully to realize the loss we 
have sustained, can ample justice be done to his genius, his char- 
acter, and undying fame. 

" Eminent as was the position he enjoyed as an artist, and 
proud as his friends were of the universal homage paid to his 
surpassing merit on both sides of the Atlantic, by ' mouths of 



206 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

wisest censure,' yet as a friend, a poet, and as a scholar, was be 
most endeared to those who enjoyed the unqualified pleasure 
of his companionship. His scholastic attainments were of the 
very highest order, and though he indulged in literary pursuits, 
rather as a relief to his mind than for any settled purpose, yet 
he has left behind him many fugitive sketches in prose and verse 
that will endure through all time. His intellect was not only 
highly cultivated, but his knowledge was vast, and his brilliant 
imagination so teemed with images of grandeur and beauty, 
that his conversational powers surpassed those of any man we 
ever met ; yet was he as guileless and simple as a child. If he 
excelled supereminently in any thing beyond his art, we are not 
sure but we should give the palm to his epistolary correspond- 
ence ; and when the time arrives — as it inevitably will — when 
'/ have a painting of Inman's ! ' will be no common boast, how 
much more dearly cherished will be the mementos of his unalter- 
able friendship and regard ! 

" Next to his devotion to his friends and his art, was Inman's 
fondness for Field Sports. In trout-fishing, especially, he ex- 
celled ; as in the case of Prof. Wilson and other kindred spirits, 
this was emphatically his hobby. And a more ardent, accom- 
plished or delightful disciple, good old Izaak Walton never had. 
In throwing a fly or spinning a minnow, he had few equals. 
****** 

" But alas ! ' Where be your gibes now ? your gambols ? 
your songs ? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set 
the table in a roar ? ' On Tuesday last the grave closed over the 
remains of the illustrious dead. He yielded up his spirit to the 
God who gave it, on the previous Saturday at noon, in his forty- 
fifth year, after taking a final leave of his bereaved family 
and friends. He appeared to be perfectly aware for some time 
previous of his approaching dissolution. On giving the last touch 
to his * October Afternoon ' — a painting finished during the 
month of October past, and which was almost his last production 
— he remarked that he had painted his last picture ! A mutual 
friend, in paying a feeble tribute to his memory, truthfully re- 
marks that 'Karely does there pass away from earth a man 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 207 

whose life more endeared him to those who knew him, than 
Inman. He had all the qualities which go to the making up of 
a true man : and so genial was his character ; so full of every 
thing which could qualify a companion and form a friend ; so 
abounding was his eloquent conversation with the riches of a 
cultivated and well-stored mind, with suggestive philosophy, 
sparkling wit, genuine humor, and illustrative anecdote ; so 
keenly did he enjoy life and life's blessings, and the*many friends 
that enjoyed it too, and the more for his companionship — and all 
this, too, while Disease was weighing him down with her heavy, 
crushing hand, — that we could hardly realize the fact of his being 
destined to an early grave. Yet now we feel it, keenly feel it, 
true. ***** jj e nas g 0ne j n an d ou t among the wide 
circle of his friends and acquaintances, for many years laying up 
stores of future association with his memory, and rearing all the 
while a beautiful and enduring monument of his excelling 
genius. To few in our country, in their own lifetime, has Fame 
sounded a clearer and more assuring paean than that which she 
has breathed over the easel of Inman. He was one of the elect 
of Genius, to whom was vouchsafed the glorious vision of his 
own immortality. 

" Henry Inman was born at Utica, in this State, (of which 
his father was one of the earliest settlers,) but had long made this 
city his place of residence ; he died of disease of the heart, an 
event which, for months, we have trembled with the assured 
apprehension of being called upon to record, and yet so appalling 
to us is it that we can hardly do more than write the sad and 
simple fact. His taste for art began to develop itself in boy- 
hood, and we are informed by a contemporary that ' notwith- 
standing he received a commission to enter the Military Academy 
at West Point, he evinced so unequivocal a bent for the pro- 
fession in which he has since become so eminent, that his father 
placed him in New York under the tuition of the elder Jaevis. 
The young artist soon rose to that position due to his talents and 
assiduity. Some of his first paintings were made in Albany, 
and are in possession of her citizens.' About a year since, Mr. 
Inman sailed for Europe, where he spent ten months. During 



208 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

this time he painted portraits of Dr. Chalmers, "Wordsworth, 
Macaulay, and Lord Cottenham — a sketch of Kydal Water, near 
Wordsworth's residence — one equally beautiful of a salmon-fishing 
scene in Scotland, and several others. His portraits, by which, 
perhaps, like Sir Thomas Lawrence, he will be longest known, 
comprise those of the highest dignitaries of the State and city 
governments, the most distinguished ornaments of the bench, the 
bar, the pulpit, etc. His portraits of Bishops Hobart, Moore, 
and Doane, of Mrs. Gen. Hampton, and others, are perfect gems, 
while those of several of the Mayors of this city, and the Gov- 
ornors of the State, and of a great number of distinguished citi- 
zens of this and other States, must now be regarded as almost 
priceless. 

" Mr. Inman has left a wife and five children. His eldest son, 
John Inman, Jr., — a youth of seventeen, — is rarely endowed. 
For some years he has practised drawing under the eye of his 
father, and has lately produced several pictures in oil that prove 
him not unworthy to sit at his father's easel. As upon the occa- 
sion of the demise of the late lamented Washington Alston, we 
beg to suggest that the Academy of Design, supported by the 
thousand friends of the deceased, his brother artists, and his 
fellow-citizens generally, open an Inman Gallery for the exhibi- 
tion of his pictures, and the sale of such drawings, sketches, etc., 
as he has left behind him, for the benefit of his family. All are 
ready to move in the good work, and only await the suggestion 
of the most feasible and appropriate plan of accomplishing it." 

Two years before Mr. Inman's death, just before 
sailing for Europe in 1844:, he made a sketch of Mr. 
Porter, an engraved copy of which accompanies this 
volume. The likeness is admirably preserved, while 
the head is idealized in the true spirit of genius. All 
that gave individual mark to the outer man, or genial 
warmth to the inner dwelling of his loving spirit, is 
here faithfully portrayed. The more it is dwelt upon, 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 209 

the more it strengthens in living sweetness of expres- 
sion, until we can scarcely believe that his " smile of 
perpetual sunshine " is among the joys of the past ! 
The next week Mr. Porter writes : 

" It is with melancholy pleasure that we are enabled to an- 
nounce the adoption of a plan in aid of the family of the 
departed Inman. The plan thought most feasible, and likely 
in its results to be productive of most benefit, is that sug- 
gested in our article of last week, and which was proposed 
and adopted at a meeting of the Academy of Design, held for 
the purpose of taking the matter into consideration. It em- 
braces the formation of a gallery, to be composed of the dif- 
ferent pictures painted by Inman, and collected from all attain- 
able sources, and its exhibition at some appropriate place, the 
proceeds to be devoted to the ulterior object in view. The 
exhibition will be opened during the ensuing week." 

A numerous committee took the matter in hand, 
and the Inman Gallery was opened. It contained one 
hundred and twenty-six paintings, sketches, and draw- 
ings of the artist — many portraits tendered by the 
owners being reluctantly declined for want of room 
in the "Art Union," where the collection was 
exhibited. It was a most successful enterprise, and 
made glad the heart of the beloved friend who sug- 
gested it. 

During the year there was a large accession of 
subscribers to the " Spirit " in various parts of the 
country, including a valuable roll of the names of 
officers in the Army of the United States, many of 
whom were contributors to its columns ; indeed, there 
was scarcely a military post which had not its bril- 



210 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 

liant writer for a paper which was a universal and 
favored guest wherever the flag of the Union floated. 
Gr * * de L * *, whose letters to the " Spirit " were 
considered the most graphic and animating from the 
army during the war with Mexico, and which were 
republished in half the papers of the day, was Capt. 
TV". Seton Henry, of the 3d U. S. Infantry. He was 
in the battles of Palo Alto, Eesaca de la Palma, Mon- 
terey and Yera Cruz, in all of which his regiment 
was on the most perilous ridge of battle. It was said 
of this gallant officer, not now living, " He fights as 
well as any man, and writes as well as he fights." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ANGLING. 

It is but justice to Mr. Porter as an angler, that 
his hints and suggestions upon his favorite source of 
recreation should be kept alive ; especially as they 
contain more unconscious displays of the man than 
can be found in any of his other writings. 

He was esteemed master of the higher art of 
trout-fishing, and to his unrivalled dexterity and grace 
in throwing a line, he added a thorough theoretical 
knowledge of his favorite department, as well as a prac- 
tical familiarity with all its details. So long as this 
exhilarating sport shall be enjoyed either as an occa- 
sional pastime or as a " grand and expansive passion " 
by the over-tasked statesman, the hard-worked scholar, 
the naturalist, the inbred sportsman, or a single faith- 
ful pupil of the "Walton school, in the length and 
breadth of the sporting-grounds of America, so long 
will Mr. Porter's practical hints be read with advan- 
tage, and his name be breathed softly and affection- 



212 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

ately by those lovers of the angle, who in coming 
time will only know him as he is connected with this 
chapter. 

No book ever made him a practical angler. Old 
Dame Nature, who is supposed by many to have been 
born several years previous to the birth of Mascall, or 
Taverner, or Markham, or old Izaak Walton, directed 
him at a very tender age to the asylum of some of 
her wriggling family in the vicinity of the kitchen 
spout, and gave him a realizing sense of their value 
in connection with a crooked pin, a tow string, and 
willow rod. From the eventful moment which wit- 
nessed his first breathless but successful experiment 
with these unsophisticated forces to land a gigantic 
chub from one of the crystal brooks of Newbury, it 
was " all go " with him for the remainder of his 
mortal time up to within a few weeks of his death. 
Though his duties pressed almost exclusively upon 
his time during his laborious manhood, he generally 
contrived to find leisure to steal away in the ripest 
glow of the hot months with a party of brother anglers, 
to some distant fishing-ground, or to stray off to Long 
Island alone, for the enjoyment of his favorite sport. 
In writing of Kendall's Santa Fe Expedition, he says : 
" No man ever truly polished a book unless he were 
something of an angler, or at least loved the occupation. 
He who steals from the haunts of men into the green 
solitudes of nature, by the banks of gliding, silvery 
streams, under the checkering lights of sun, leaf and 
cloud, may always hope to cast his lines, whether of 
the rod or the ' record-book,' in pleasant places." 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 213 



TROUT-FISHING ON LONG ISLAND. 

" Of all sports ever sported, commend me to an- 
gling. It is the wisest, virtuonsest, discreetest, best ; 
the safest, cheapest, and in all likelihood, the oldest 
of pastimes. It is a one-handed game, that would 
have suited Adam himself; it was the only one by 
which ISToah conld have amused himelf in the ark. 
Hunting and shooting come in second and third. 
The common phrase, ' Fish, flesh, and fowl,' hints 
clearly at this order of precedence. * * * To 
refer to my own experience, I certainly became ac- 
quainted with the angling-rod next after the birchen 
one, and long before I had any practical knowledge 
of ' Mmrod ' or ' Kamrod.' * * * The truth is, 
Angling comes by nature. It is in the system, as the 
doctors say, Plenty of children are born with water 
in the head ; but whoever heard of a boy coming 
into the world with gunpowder on the brain, or tops 
and leathers on his legs ? " 

Thus discourses, in praise of Angling, that " klev* 
ver dogge and phunne poette," Tom Hood, And 
who shall gainsay him ? Does not every ardent disci- 
pie of honest old Izaak "Walton feel its truth tingling 
to the tips of his fingers' ends ? 

Fly-fishing has been designated the royal and 
aristocratic branch of the angler's craft, and unques- 
tionably it is the most difficult, the most elegant, and 
to men of taste, by myriads of degrees the most ex- 
citing and pleasant mode of angling. To land a trout 
of three, four, or five pounds weight, and sometimes 



'214: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

heavier, with, a hook almost invisible, with a gut line 
as delicate and beautiful as a single hair from the 
raven tresses of a mountain sylph, and with a rod not 
heavier than a tandem whip, is an achievement re- 
quiring no little presence of mind, united to consum- 
mate skill. If it be not so, and if it do not give you 
some very pretty palpitations of the heart in the per- 
formance, may we never wet a line in Lake George, or 
raise a trout in the Susquehanna. Fly-fishing requires 
many natural attributes, among which must be 
chiefly enumerated, a light and flexible hand and 
arm, a quick eye, and one that can " squint straight," 
caution, coolness, and an extreme delicacy of touch. 
From the sources of the Delaware and the Susque- 
hanna to those of the Kennebec, and in the thousand 
mountain streams flowing into the St. Lawrence, 
trout-fishing may now be enjoyed (May and June) 
in the utmost perfection. We have dreamed, or have 
somewhere heard, that it is not until the cowslip has 
shed its golden smiles over the meadows, and your 
ears are saluted with the vernal notes of the reed- 
sparrow ; when the " ephemera " or Hay-fly is seen 
(courting its destruction) giddily to wanton over the 
surface of the stream which only a few hours before 
brought it into existence, that trout are " initiated 
into condition," and rise freely to the fly. You may 
now see them lurking in every direction in the ponds 
of New England ; while on Long Island, he that 
cannot kill twenty brace at the close of a summer 
afternoon, or before the sun gets up, should not be 
allowed to wet a line. The gray and green drake, 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 215 

which the nearest resemble the May-fly, succeed it 
in their season, and are equally welcomed by " Johnny 
Trout." The palmer family follow in order, and may 
be used throughout the season with success. But 
there is, during the still evening of midsummer, a 
minute black gnat, which riots in myriads over every 
stream, and we have seen trout in a continued state 
of excitement for above an hour in carping at these 
gnats. "We confess our entire disbelief in a doctrine 
considered orthodox by many, that each season and 
stream has its peculiar and appropriate flies ; and we 
have arrived at this conclusion after as much practical 
experience as many Waltonians who have attained the 
age of fourscore. Since we were stout enough to 
wield a rod, our " constant custom of an afternoon " 
has been to put it to use, if, by hook or by crook, we 
could ; for the which propensity many is the birchen 
one we have had applied to our shoulders, and we 
are free to say, that our experience goes to prove, that 
with three flies well matched, there is very little neces- 
sity of cumbering one's hook with an infinite variety. 
Give us a red or brown hackle for the end of our 
leader, with a black midge for the first dropper, and 
a light salmon-colored butterfly not larger than your 
thumb-nail for the second, and we can raise from his 
cool retreat the craftiest trout that ever gorged a 
grasshopper, or turned up his nose in scorn at the 
bungling efforts of a greenhorn. 

TKOUT-FISHING, FISHING-TACKLE, &c. 

In reply to one of William's correspondents, ask- 



216 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. P0ETEE. 

ing for minute information upon certain points con- 
nected with trout-fishing, the former rejoins: 

" We have a shrewd suspicion that the identity of 
our correspondent is not unknown to us ; that we have 
had the pleasure of seeing him at home, while enjoying 
the hospitalities which his honored father dispenses 
with such infinite grace at Lexington. In answer to 
his inquiries: the best practical treatises on fishing 
are Sir Humphrey Davy's ' Salmonia, or Days of 
Fly Fishing,' and ' The Eod and the Gun,' by "Wilson 
and the author of ' The Oakleigh Shooting Code.' But 
experience is the test teacher. To become a first-rate 
angler, one must be born to it, as one must be born a 
poet, a painter, or a musician, 

" Izaak Walton eloquently sustains us on this point : 
* * -* ut D ou "bt not but that Angling is an art ; 
is it not an art to deceive a Trout with an artificial 
fly ? a Trout ! that is more sharp^sighted than any 
Hawk you have named, and more watchful and timor- 
ous than your high-mettled Merlin is bold ? and yet, I 
doubt not to catch a brace or two to-morrow for a 
friend's breakfast. Doubt not, therefore, sir, but that 
Angling is an art, and an art worth your learning : 
the question is rather, whether you be capable of 
learning it ? for Angling is something like Poetry, 
men are to be born so ; I mean with inclinations to 
it, though both may be heightened by discourse and 
practice : but he that hopes to be a good Angler, must 
not only bring an inquiring, searching, observant wit, 
but he must bring a large measure of hope and pa- 
tience, and a love and propensity to the art itself; but 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 217 

having once got and practised it, then doubt not but 
Angling will prove to be so pleasant, that it will prove 
to be like virtue, a reward to itself.' 

" To justly appreciate the truth, the poetry, the 
honest purpose and the good feeling expressed in the 
above quotation, one must be an enthusiastic disciple 
of the good, the pious and the time-honored old 
Izaak. In a vast country like ours, where the different 
modes of fishing are almost as numerous as the varie- 
ties of the finny tribe themselves, it is manifestly im- 
possible to lay down other than very general direc- 
tions for the information of the neophyte. "Wilson tells 
us, with equal candor and truth, that ' expert angling 
never was and never will be successfully taught by 
rule, but is almost entirely the result of assiduous and 
long-continued practice.' Of ordinary rod-fishing for 
trout with worms or live bait, we presume our corre- 
spondent understands the first principles, consequently 
he has in fact already commenced his primary lessons 
in Fly-fishing and Trolling. But in this section of 
the country, whether fishing for the common speckled 
trout or the salmon trout of the lakes, he cannot use 
a fly with advantage until the middle of May, nor can 
he troll successfully for salmon or salmon trout until 
about the first of June. Before the appropriate season 
commences, we will endeavor to enlighten our corre- 
spondent on both matters, though we beg him dis- 
tinctly to understand that no one can do much more 
for him after informing him when he can find sport, 
than to recommend suitable tackle, and show him 
how it may be best adapted to his wants in his 6 pursuit 
10 



218 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

of knowledge under difficulties.' The art of throwing 
a fly is readily attained by one who handles his rod 
well in bait-fishing, bnt nothing like perfection will 
be achieved until after careful and persevering prac- 
tice. 

" Trolling and hand-line fishing is about as simple 
as set lines through the ice or otherwise : an apt 
scholar will learn to practise either in a few hours. 
In trolling with flies or live bait (and it is well enough 
to have both attached to your leader at the same time) 
you can pay out your line better, and it will play 
more freely, by having your largest fly or live bait at 
the extreme end of your leader ; let your drop-flies or 
bait be diminished in size in proportion as they are 
looped on the leader from the end. In trolling (with 
a rod is much the surest and pleasantest method) your 
gut leader may be made within a few feet of its 
length ; if longer, you will fray and soon ruin it in 
reeling in your Ash. Until you get accustomed to it 
— until you begin to play, kill and land your fish like 
an artist, you should use a short leader, not above six 
feet long ; its length you can increase as you get on. 
In rod-fishing, we would recommend, at first, the 
trial of a single hook ; when you can use two, let the 
bait on the lowest be heaviest. It is not a bad plan 
in early spring fishing for trout, with worms or live 
bait, before they begin to rise freely to the fly, to 
attach a fly to your line several feet above your bait, 
(in proportion to the depth of water.) Every one 
using a float must have remarked an occasional ' rise ' 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 219 

to it by some very old trout, that would not be tempt- 
ed with bait. Yery early in the summer it is advisa- 
ble to bait your lower hook with worms, and the other 
with live bait ; that is, if you can catch killies or 
shiners with a scrap-net. "We dislike using a float, 
but in some streams that are overhung with low trees, 
or have a light current, one is absolutely necessary, in 
order to get your bait carried clear of roots and out 
of eddies, into the dark, deep holes under banks, 
rocks, stumps, etc. Next to fly-fishing, there is noth- 
ing so delightful nor so difficult as brook fishing ; in 
nothing is patience, skill and indomitable persever- 
ance more required, and in the successful angler these 
qualities stand out in bold and beautiful relief. 

" In pond fishing, or in streams too deep for wad- 
ing, (which is greatly to be preferred whenever prac- 
ticable,) the utmost care must be exercised to keep 
your boat out of the channel, where, with their heads 
to the current, trout always lie. If once disturbed, 
they become shy, and will rarely bite or rise to the 
fly for some time. Paddle your boat quietly, and in 
anchoring make as little noise as possible ; go no 
nearer a good ' hole ' than will enable you barely, by 
a good cast, to throw into it ; by this means, instead 
of frightening them all, you may take half a dozen of 
the twenty fish in it. If you use a float and sinker, 
let them be as slight as may be, and be careful to drop 
them lightly into the water. 

" As for places where to find sport, every reader of 
the ' Spirit ' in this vicinity well knows. There is not 
a babbling brook or tide stream, nor a pond, public 



220 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

or private, of any repute, within a hundred miles of 
our sanctum, in which we have not at some time wet 
a line. On the south side of Long Island one can 
hardly go amiss, while at Smithtown there are three 
fine ponds and two creeks, in all of which we have 
had capital sport. Stump Pond was ever a favorite 
resort for us. There are several in the immediate 
vicinity of Babylon. Seven miles further on, at Islip, 
will be found a good place, and one of the finest 
creeks on the Island. It is worth ten times the drive 
just to spend a day or two at Crandall's Hotel. An 
hour's drive will take you to Snedicor's, and two 
hours more will land you at Uncle Sam Carman's at 
Fire-Plaec. To be sure, there is capital fishing to be 
had within ten miles of town, but unless you know 
something about the proper time of tide, the holes, 
etc., you might as well fish in a tea-kettle as in Spring 
Creek. 

" Of the trout-fishing in Hamilton and Sullivan 
Counties in this State we have repeatedly spoken, as 
also of that in the Sacondaga and the Hudson, near 
their junction at Hadley Falls. Out of Maine, the 
best trout streams in JSTew England are situated in 
that district of Massachusetts known as Cape Cod. 
The Marshpee Brook at Marshfield is beyond all dis- 
pute the best one over which we ever held a rod. 
The nearest good salmon-fishing is the Kennebec 
River, Maine, and the Jacques-Cartier in Canada ; 
but in Piseco, Lake Pleasant, and other lakes in 
Hamilton County, salmon trout weighing from three 
to forty-five pounds, are taken in great abundance. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 221 

Most of these lakes are within sixty miles of Saratoga 
Springs. 

" Our correspondent desires ns to mention what 
an angler's complete outfit would cost at Conroy's? 
Now, this is no easy matter ; the prices of rods vary 
from one to twenty-eight dollars ; reels from one to 
eight ; lines from sixpence to five dollars. A ' com- 
plete outfit ' for a Northern man comprises three times 
as many articles as is required for a gentleman resid- 
ing in the South or West, with the exception perhaps 
of South Carolina. We do not deem it necessary to 
have a different rod for trout, bass and salmon fish- 
ing ; we have had for years half a dozen excellent 
rods, but very rarely use but one for any kind of rod- 
fishing ; indeed, the two largest bass we ever caught 
were taken at the same instant with an extremely 
light and fragile London fly-rod, not heavier than a 
tandem-whip. Conroy has recently got up a new 
general rod, from a pattern we furnished him eighteen 
months since, which answers every purpose, either 
for fly, salmon, bass, black or pickerel fishing. He 
has immortalized the writer of this article by giving 
it the name of ' Porter's General Rod.' The idea of 
the rod in question was suggested by circumstances 
occurring in the use of a very fine one, made expressly 
for us some years since, by our venerable old friend 
Leutner. It has four joints for bass or pickerel, and 
Hye for trout or salmon fishing, with three extra tips. 
It can be so put together as to make a rod either ten 
or sixteen feet in length ; you may make out of it a 
light hand-rod for fiy-fishing, or a heavy, powerful 



222 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

rod, sufficiently strong to play a thirty-pound salmon 
or bass, at the end of a hundred yards of line ! In- 
stead of rings on one side, ' Porter's General Rod ' 
has fluted guides on both sides, through which the 
line can play ; the sockets of the joints are double in- 
stead of single, that end of the joint fitting into the 
double sockets having double ferrules around it. 
There is no difficulty in taking this rod apart from 
the swelling of the wood from wet, while at the same 
time you may use it all day without tightening the 
joints ; it can never get out of order with fair usage. 
Its weight is about three pounds only ; the smaller 
joints are of lancewood, and the ferrules, guides, tips, 
rockets, etc., are of German silver. Conroy informed 
us a few days since that he had more orders for this 
rod than for all others added together. Conroy has 
lately got up a Patent Balance Reel — the most perfect 
thing ever invented. It is of German silver, which, 
by the way, is admirably adapted for all metal appa- 
ratus, save hooks, embraced in the paraphernalia of 
an angler, as it does not corrode. A reel that will 
multiply twice is preferable to any other ; it is diffi- 
cult to make a cast with one that multiplies more — 
or less, either, unless it be of very large size. On no 
account buy a cheap one, whatever rod you may se- 
lect. A poor reel is of all mean things the meanest. 

" Hooks of the best quality are to be found for 
two or three shillings per dozen, (always excepting 
Limericks of ' the O'Shaughnessy bend,' which are 
not to be had in this country for love or money, if 
you except, perhaps, a single one which we may give 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 223 

you,) and these you must tie on yourself. "Whether 
the hooks of Kirby <& Co. (vulgarly yclept < curbed ') 
or the Limerick are preferable, we shall not decide ; 
for trout and salmon we prefer the latter, and the for- 
mer for bass. For trout you require hooks ranging 
from No. 1 to 3 — for salmon, from No. 1 to 5 — for 
bass, from No. 1 to 3. 

" Instead of purchasing hooks on snells, buy a 
hank of choice Spanish gut, and make your own snells 
and leaders. Quill floats are preferable for begin- 
ners, as they are more quietly dropped into the water. 
Duck-shot split make the best sinker, and let this be 
as light as the current will admit. 

" In the matter of Lines you must consult your 
taste and purse. 

" For Flies, a dollar expended with judgment will 
1 start you in business ;' before you use them up you 
must learn to make your own. Select of the Brown, 
Red and Black Hackle two each ; then get two of 
Martin Kelly's, (Dublin,) two March Browns, and two 
Green Drakes. If you fancy a Stone Fly, or any 
other variety, get it, and Conroy will probably add a 
Miller just for luck ! 

" A complete outfit for Trout Fishing may be ob- 
tained for about $40 ; that is, assuming that every 
article is the very best of its kind. Purchase nothing 
that you do not actually require, and let every thing 
be plain and substantial. Remember, however, that 
with five dollars more you may provide yourself with 
every additional article that may be required in fish- 
ing for bass, bream, tautog, perch or pickerel. The 



224 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

$40 will provide you with a capital rod and reel, two 
lines and floats, two dozen assorted hooks, one dozen 
flies, one hank of gnt, a hook for flies and snells, a 
bait-box, scrap-net, gaff, and a patent-leather drinking 
cnp, (a capital French invention, that may be folded 
and carried in yonr vest-pocket.) If yon do purchase 
a ' landing ' or ' scrap-net,' select one that has a brass 
frame which will fold up and also screw off; have 
your gaff made so as to screw on in its place, to the 
handle of the landing-net. If you propose visiting a 
sparsely inhabited region, where you may be obliged 
to camp out o' nights, buy an inch auger inserted as a 
handle in a light hatchet, the whole being secured in 
leather. With it you can erect a comfortable shanty 
in twenty minutes, or fasten together a raft strong 
enough to support i half a horse and half an alligator.' 
" There, that will do for the nonce. If our corre- 
spondent will do us the honor to pay us a visit during 
his next vacation, it will give us great pleasure to af- 
ford him the aid of our poor counsel in all matters per- 
taining to the subject of these crude paragraphs, 
penned in great haste, out of the affluence of a heart 
overflowing with charity and good will towards every 
disciple of honest old Izaak." 

TKOUT-FISHING IN HAMILTON COUNTY, N. Y. 

( Which was accompanied with an illustration by Dick.) 

How many scenes as romantic and wildly beauti- 
ful as that presented by Mr. Dick's engraving, are 
exhibited to the delighted gaze of the enthusiastic 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 225 

angler among the lakes of Hamilton county, in this 
State ! The bold shores of these miniature seas, upon 
which are piled, like " Pelion upon Ossa," ranges of 
" everlasting hills," are covered with a luxuriant 
growth of timber, presenting every brilliant hue and 
variety of tint so characteristic of American forest 
scenery ; the pigmy promontories stretching far out 
into the broad expanse of gently rippling waters, ter- 
minating in sand-bars glowing like molten silver in 
the sun's rays ; groups of islands, whose picturesque 
beauty Calypso and her nymphs might envy, dotting 
their placid surface like flocks of water-fowl, with here 
and there a sail-boat moored in some quiet cove or 
under a towering headland, from which the skilful 
angler 

"Lures from his cool retreat the crafty trout : ' 

how many charming scenes of this peculiar character 
will be found in this wild and mountainous region ! 
Look again at our illustration. How well is depicted 
a bright clear morning, at the moment when 

" Jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain-top." 

The cool land-breeze has excited such a capital ripple 
for fly-fishing, that one can almost fancy he sees 
the trout " breaking " in all directions. Take the 
figures in the foreground. How many hearts will in- 
stinctively yearn to enjoy " the royal and aristocratic 
branch of the angler's craft," so felicitously indi- 
cated in the engraving ! The fortunate individual 
who is wielding his fly-rod with such palpable success, 
10* 



226 LIFE OF WILLIAM' T. POETEE. 

is evidently no greenhorn, though we should recom- 
mend him to allow Johnny Trout to keep his nose 
under water for a while longer, if he would assure 
himself of the pleasure of his company at dinner. 
How much like Alba Dunning or Tim Skidmore 
looks that tough young boatman resting on his oars, 
and watching with the keenest interest the fierce 
struggles of that five-pound trout, while with gaff in 
hand he is waiting his nearer approach to assist him 
safely on board ! That rod fastened in the stern 
looks as if it might be useful ; doubtless our friend 
has been trolling a minnow or two and half a dozen 
flies at the end of eighty feet of line, but astounded 
at the boldness of a sockdollager, in making a " rise " 
within twenty feet of the boat, he has evidently 
snatched up his single-handed fly-rod, and with a 
magnificent cast has dropped a most killing green- 
drake on the precise spot. Of course, a morsel, so 
delicious and so temptingly displayed is not to be 
resisted by a salmon-trout suffering under " the keen 
demands of appetite," and results in a bold " break," 
a whir of the reel, a dash up fifty yards, consummate 
skill in making play on both sides, until the " tottle 
of the whole" matter is presented as in the scene 

illustrated by the engraving. 

****** 

He writes in June, 1840, that the finest trout-fishing 
at this season of the year north of the Susquehanna, 
is to be had at Cape Cod ; we are entreated not to be 
too definite, for a fortnight at least, when we shall be 
at liberty to flare up with the particular localities in 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 227 

the towns of Sandwich, Barnstable, Wareham, &c. 
A despatch from the head-quarters of the " Cape 
Division," now at Marshpee, reached ns last week. It 
was accompanied with two champagne baskets of fat, 
rosy trout, of from one to three pounds weight. The 
run was splendid, nearly twenty weighing two pounds 
each, while several came well up to three pounds. 
One of his correspondents wrote from the Cape that 
" we killed to-day eighty-eight trout — yesterday thir- 
ty-one, seven of which weighed twelve and a half 
pounds ; * * * to-day we killed thirty, four of which 
weighed ten and a half pounds, the largest weighing 
three pounds." " These trout," writes William, " were 
caught in salt creeks ; were taken with minnows, 
though after putting on a minnow, the Limerick was 
tipped with a worm. It is impossible to use a fly in 
the Marshpee, owing to the foliage which completely 
embowers the brook ; the best trout stream in which 
it was our good fortune to wet a line. In several 
streams, however, the trout rise freely to the black 
midge and brown hackle, and occasionally great exe- 
cution may be done with a salmon-colored member 
of the palmer family." 

"Having returned last week (Sept. 1844:) from 
Hamilton Co., !N". Y., we have no hesitation in express- 
ing the opinion that more good fishing and hunting 
may be found there than in any section of the coun- 
try on this side of the Alleghanies. It is now four 
years since we first cast our line into these lakes, and 
enthusiastic as our description of the trout-fishing 
there was deemed at the time, we have been assured 



228 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

by many gentlemen, who were induced to visit them 
from our representations, that the reality far exceeded 
their most sanguine expectations. Although this is 
not the best season of the year for killing trout, yet 
it is far better there even now than it ever is on 
Long Island ; while the shooting and hunting are 
' immense.' The fishing, as well as the hunting, 
will be much better for the ensuing four weeks, than 
it was during the period of our recent visit. 

" Hamilton County is very sparsely settled, and still 
less cultivated. There are wood and water enough in 
it for a pretty smart State, and the county is so 
healthy, that ten men run away where one dies. At 
a majority of the best places for sport, one is five 
miles from any house, and twenty from anywhere 
else ; so you will be obliged to build a shanty and 
camp out. The salmon and lake trout are taken all 
over the county, of prodigious size, occasionally weigh- 
ing thirty-five pounds, while the speckled or brook- 
trout run from one to four pounds, and are killed in 
immense numbers. The shooting is splendid ; there 
are more moose and deer killed annually in Hamilton 
County, than in any other half-dozen in the State. 
Partridges, woodcock, etc., and a great variety of 
water-fowl also, are found in untold abundance. If 
you would like a shy at a panther or bear, or a pack 
of wolves, you can enjoy it ; but a moose, that is an 
affair just a huckleberry over any American field 
sport, short of buffalo-hunting. A full-grown bull 
moose is seventeen hands high, and his antlers some- 
times measure eight feet from tip to tip. A large 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 229 

one weighs sixteen hundred pounds; the highest 
fences would offer no obstruction to them, as they 
can clear in their stride an immense log higher 
than a man's head. They are gifted with extra- 
ordinary powers of speed and endurance, their gait 
something between a trot and a rack ; barring a buffa- 
lo chase, there is nothing so exciting or so dangerous 
as moose-hunting on snow-shoes. 

"For ' things ' required for Fishing, Shooting, 
etc. — Take your rifle with you, if you hope to knock 
over a moose, but above all your double-barrelled 
Westley Richards, and if you have one of Colt's or 
Rolen's revolving pistols, take that along also. Take 
your trout and your bass-rod, for in trolling you can 
make use of each, and moreover an extra rod is not 
a bad idea in case of accidents. Lay in a complete 
supply of ammunition, including some wire cartridges. 
For your fishing apparatus you must have at least one 
braided silk line, not less than one hundred yards long 
and on a good reel, for salmon-trout fishing. Let it be 
stout. Recollect that half the cheap lines, after a few 
days' fishing are not strong enough to pull a sitting- 
hen off her nest ! Killing a twenty-pounder at the end 
of eighty yards of line is no child's play. Add two 
or three nice elastic lines for ordinary trout-fishing. 
If you are an artist, you will have a delicate fly -line, 
to match your single-handed rod. Recollect that you 
cannot splice a line so as to play a heavy fish well on a 
jointed rod, and that one less than fifty yards long will 
be of no account when you are about to use it. If 



230 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

you can find a braided hair-line eighty-five feet long, 
nearly as large as a quill, and stont as a bed-cord, buy 
it, to nse as a hand-line for lake trout. Take an extra 
reel or two : and i Porter's General Rod.' We have 
used one for four years, and have not broken or strained 
so much as a tip ; it is in as fine order as when first 
turned out, and few rods have seen harder service. 
Brough caught a shark with it at Stonington nearly 
as long and heavy as himself, and we have killed with 
it three sockdollagers at a time repeatedly ; both 
trout, bass, and blue-fish. Get a hank of salmon-gut, 
and make your own leaders ; if you can't yet tie your 
flies, it is high time you set about acquiring the art. 
You want half a dozen sets of snap-hooks for trolling, 
we prefer the Kirby to the Limerick ; they should be 
quite small, not above half the size used for pike or 
pickerel. Have a couple of dozen of trout-hooks of 
assorted sizes, to provide for an emergency, and half 
a dozen of the smallest possible size for bait. Instead 
of a landing-net use a gaff ; the hook of the latter 
you can take in your pocket, while the former gives 
you as much trouble as a lady's bandbox. "With 
regard to flies, use your own discretion as to colors, 
but be sure they are large. You will require a 
dozen salmon-flies tied on long Limerick hooks, 
and not less than two dozen trout-flies, that is, if you 
cannot make them. Fill your hook with the red and 
brown hackles ; green drakes, gray palmers and blue 
jays ; make their bodies gay and brilliant, and the 
longer their wings and tails the better. The most suc- 
cessful fly we ever used, we tied on during a furious 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 231 

gale on Piseco Lake ; it was a large, gaudy, coarsely 
made thing, but a regular killer ; body dark blue 
hackle, with blue wings, and tail tipped with white 
of the blue jay, head of golden red from a black- 
bird's wing. A very little experience will enable 
any person of moderate ingenuity to tie his own flies, 
and a day's practice will teach him more about size 
and color than he would acquire from books by a 
month's study. ' Meadows ' recommends a tyro to 
take a well-made artificial fly to pieces, examining it 
carefully as he proceeds ; in a few trials he will succeed 
in tying one to his mind. Do not embarrass yourself 
with superfluous traps ; the apparatus of a true disci- 
ple of the gentle art consists of a few plain, first- 
rate articles. He looks upon the nicknacks of the 
greenhorn, as if they were intended to catch trout 
by dropping salt on their tails. 

"Extra matters and things worth a consideration. — 
If, perchance, you happen to be a modern ' Temperance 
Society man,' you had better lay in your stores, for 
you will find little or nothing better than < old bold- 
face' in Hamilton County, save at Yan Derwarker's, at 
Lake Pleasant. Having the fear of im-Providence 
and bad dinners before us, we took the precaution to 
lay in a few cold tongues, a delicious Virginia ham, 
and some pressed corn-beef, an invention of mine 
hosts of the Astor, on whom, and for which Danse, or 
some other pretty woman, should descend in a shower 
of gold, if we could have a few minutes' conversation 
with ( her man ' Jupiter. You also had best take 



232 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETER. 

a small frying-pan and a griddle, both without 
handles, and an apparatus for striking a light. Lay 
in your cigars, if you smoke, and your tobacco, and 
provide yourself with a good pack. A light hatchet, 
with an inch auger for a handle, will be worth its 
weight in gold. If you have a large stout pair of 
India-rubber boots, put them in your carpet-bag : if 
otherwise, get a pair of thick seal-skin ; have the 
heels made broad and flat, and be sure they are made 
a size or two larger than your foot. Don't carry a 
trunk large enough for a rhinoceros, and in packing 
it, make up your mind that every thing you wear will 
be torn into the size of bullet patches, before you 
return, provided you ' go in ' for the whole strength 
of the game ; such as walking for miles through a 
pathless forest, and camping out, though you may 
not be obliged to do any thing of the kind. 

"The Routes to Hamilton Co. — If you start from 
New York, take the night-boat to Troy, and proceed to 
Saratoga Springs. Ask Maroni, of the United States 
Hotel, to get you a good pair of horses and a strong 
wagon, which you can always obtain, even in July 
and August, at a very moderate price. If you do not 
expect to be absent above a week, hire the horses for 
that time. Maroni will supply you with stores, and 
you can take a fair start. From the Springs to the 
handsome new hotel at Lake Pleasant, the distance is 
about sixty miles ; the route lies up through the Sacan- 
daga Valley, a picturesque country, and the road is so 
good, that by an early start you can get through in a day. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 233 

"Places for Sport about Lake Pleasant. — The hotel 
here will be your head-quarters. It is within thirty- 
rods of both Round Lake and Lake Pleasant, which 
are connected by a creek. The Sacandaga River is the 
outlet of these two lakes, and unites with West River 
(the outlet of Piseco Lake) at Wells. From your 
hotel you are within six miles of Piseco Lake, fourteen 
of Louis, eighteen of Indian, forty of Racket, and 
fifty of Long Lake. After fishing in the lakes in the 
immediate vicinity of the hotel, you must visit 
Louis Lake, taking ' Indian Clearing ' in your way. 
You can go a few miles in a wagon, and the remain- 
der on horseback ; if there are four in the party, take 
two horses and ' ride and tie.' The distance is four- 
teen miles, but if you walk it you will think it forty. 
After Piseco, Louis Lake has afforded us the very best 
trout-fishing we ever enjoyed. And then the deer- 
shooting, as at Lake Pleasant, is capital. On the day 
of our last arrival there, they killed a fine bear, and 
one morning, of seven deer run into the lake, five were 
killed, including four bucks. Moose-hunting proper 
does not commence until after a heavy fall of snow. 
Some idea may be formed of the hunting to be had 
when we state that it is estimated that not less than 
one hundred moose and Hyo hundred deer were killed 
last season within a range of thirty miles of Lake 
Pleasant. 

" N. B. — On your way to Louis Lake, be sure to 
try a large and deep hole at the Indian Clearing. We 
once caught there forty odd trout, with a fly, in about 
an hour. There is good fishing, too, at the falls of 



i assnp'c I.: - ;:. which are not far from whc 

- that ~:reani on your way to the lake. There 
a doifi: small lakes new: Lake PI* isa nt we have not 

mentioned. Indeed, there are not less than i Lundred 
laid down in Mr. Hoffman's survcv of Hamilton 
C vunty, but we are assured the number falls little 
short :: five hnndred. A very inconsiderable portion 
of the county has been cleared, mnch less settled, sc 
that, except in Lakes Pleasant and Piseco. visit >rs 
mns: expect hard fare at the best A great iiuni- 
:»f the inhabitants secure a livelihood by hunting 
and trapping : otter, martin, etc.. are caught in gi 
numbers during the winter, and the beaver is far 
from extinct. Every week during the season a heavy 
load of game is sent from Lake Pleasant to Saratoga. 
- : that you can communicate with the world, for you 
1 3 essentially out of it in this region. 

•• T\-: Firs* T\\ :: F: j; A ~. — We 

will suppose you snugly quartered at the Lake P 
ant Hotel, where you will find every thing neat. 
plain and quiet about the place ; and a man that can 
." Lold fire in his hand, • by thinking of the frosty 
Caucasus ' can get on quite comfortably. The first 
important step now to be taken is to hunt up Nat 
Morrill, lira Skidmore. Eandall or Cole, and you 
will find your hands full to match either, as woods- 
men or sportsmen. Nat and Tim know every trout- 
hole, deer-stand or moose-yard, within twenty miles, 
rill is a trapper by profession, and Tim inherits 
all the knowledge of woodcraft which made his late 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TOTTER. 1 : r 

uncle so celebrated in this region. Dunning yon will 
find too a capital fellow in the woods : he can carry a 
pack, build a shanty, catch bait. work, and make 
himself generally useful ; Cole. too. can do this, and 
le. has several fine hounds. Yan Derwarker will 
lend you a pointer or a setter, and oblige you in any 
way. 

mething about Fishing. — The best time to visit 
Hamilton County for the purpose of fishing is the last 
week of May or first of June, but trout in abundance 
may be taken from one year's end to another. From 
May until September they rise freely to the Hy. but in 
June the large lake trout are to be seen breaking like 
speckled trout, and may be taken in the same manner. 
Alter this time they gradually return into deeper 
water, and in July, and subsequently, you fish for them 
— usually with a hand-line — in from fifty to one hun- 
dred feet of water. A Mr. Jewett, at Lake Pleasant, 
makes capital hooks for this kind of fishing. They 
resemble in shape the celebrated Limerick hooks, 
which have what is termed the ; O'Shaughn— 
bend.' and are exceedingly well tempered. They 
are as large as the hooks used for cod, haddock, etc.. 
and require to be. ^Te have seen the largest of them 
snapped off. and lines broken that appeared strong 
enough to hold an alligator. The point of these 
hooks is not above half the ordinary height, and it 
has a barb on each side of it. We think, however, we 
have a better hook yet ; the pattern sent to us by 
General Brooke of the IT. S. armv. one of the most 



236 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

distinguished disciples of Izaak Walton, as he is one 
of the most gallant and accomplished officers in the 
service. We have had several made for distribution 
among our friends, and have induced Conroy to order 
several thousands of various sizes from England. Gen- 
eral Brooke has used them with great success in Lake 
Superior and Florida. 

" Salmon or lake-trout fishing is practised here as at 
Lake George. It is not to our taste, by the by, but you 
shall have the benefit of our experience. In the first 
place, select what seems to your eye a good location 
or two in a lake, and mark the spot by sinking a rock 
attached to a strong cord, the upper end of which you 
tie to a shingle as a buoy, which floats directly over 
your ' anchor,' so that you can at any time hit upon 
the precise spot ; the water where the anchor is sunk 
should be over fifty feet deep. Cut up half a bushel of 
small fish, shiners, suckers, etc., and throw them over 
it, and upon the following day you may safely calculate 
upon taking as many salmon trout as you care to lug 
home. These same lakes you will also find to abound 
with speckled trout, of large size and exquisite flavor. 
The fly-fishing cannot be paralleled in our opinion, 
and we have wet a line in nearly every stream or 
pond of note beween the Susquehanna and the Kenne- 
bec. You will find great sport in trolling. For this 
you require a leader of your strongest gut, nearly as 
long as your rod ; put on a set of snap-hooks at the 
end, and another set three feet above it, on each of 
which spin a live minnow. Above the snaps, at uni- 
form distances, loop on three or four large salmon- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 237 

flies, and our word for it, in Piseco or Louis lakes 
you will take two or three at a time. Let out from 
forty to seventy feet of line, and use your heaviest 
rod ; bend a lighter line on your second rod, and use 
smaller flies ; an hour's fishing will dictate to you the 
most successful sizes and colors of your flies. You 
can troll and throw your fly at the same time. 

" The river and brook fishing, except that it is in- 
comparably finer, is very like that found in other sec- 
tions of the State, with this difference, that instead of 
fishing down a stream for a mile or two, you strike 
from one hole to another, and sometimes fish in the 
same place two or three days. These deep ' holes ' 
are more properly eddies, not usually over six rods 
wide, but from a quarter to a half-mile in length ; they 
are full of trout, and you can take a hundred brace in a 
day sometimes, but this is sheer waste, and unless you 
have a packhorse, you can't carry above half the num- 
ber away, especially if you have to wallow for half 
a dozen of miles through a thick growth of witch- 
hopple and shin-hemlock, the very thought of which 
makes our legs ache. 

" To return to trolling. We plead guilty to having 
had recourse to an arrangement which we are con- 
fident our friends ' G.,' ' Piscator ' and ' Meadows ' 
will think any thing but orthodox. In trolling 
with flies, we found half the time that a ' rise ' 
was but the weak invention of the enemy, and we 
proceeded to ' circumvent ' him after the follow- 
ing fashion : we tied two flies together, selecting a 
large yellow salmon-fly, for instance, and an ordinary- 



238 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

sized red or brown hackle trout-fly. You should have 
seen how it worked ; it was good for weak eyes. In 
casting in the ordinary way, with a single or double- 
handed rod, of course it was unnecessary to resort to 
any such heretical practice. 

" /Sport at Lake Piseco. — After spending a week in 
the vicinity of Lake Pleasant, get Yan Derwarker to 
drive you behind his first man to Arietta, a little 
village located close by the inlet of Lake Piseco. The 
lake is very large, and the best one for trout we ever 
threw a fly in. At Arietta is a nice house, kept by 
Hiram Jones, a clever man in all respects. And here 
we must introduce you to Alba Dunning, as fine- 
spirited and gallant a young woodsman as ever 
knocked over a moose or landed a salmon. He has 
such appliances and means for fishing and shooting as 
you can find nowhere else. His sail and row-boats 
are tip-top ; he has plenty of live bait preserved in 
nets, and what is equally pleasant, his father's house 
is within twenty rods of the lake. By the way, let 
us present you to the old gentleman ; he is a resident 
of the county of fifty years' standing, and has killed 
more of feather and fin than any man in the county. 
He does not ' keep a public house,' but occasionally 
' entertains company,' which being interpreted, means 
that if you look like a clever fellow, he will give you 
the best at his command, and if you do not, he will 
not have you at any price. 

" Lake Piseco is about seven miles in length by 
two in width ; a most beautiful sheet of water, sur- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 239 

rounded on all sides by a majestic range of hills, 
covered to the summit with the most magnificent 
forest trees. The picturesque scenes presented from 
many points of this seat in miniature, exhibit a savage 
grandeur of aspect, combined with a degree of wild 
romantic beauty, that would have charmed Sir Walter 
Scott amid his own Highlands, while Christopher North 
would throw away his crutch and immortalize them, 
after such fly-fishing as we enjoyed. 

" A few more hints : do not allow your deer-hunting 
to break in upon your time, but drive early in the 
morning. If you like fin-hunting— and we hope you 
do not, for it is a most unsportsman-like practice, — be 
careful that you do not " shine the eyes " of a panther. 

" While at Piseco do not neglect to make a trip to 
a large deep pool in West Eiver, six miles from Mr. 
Dunning's house. The route has rarely been tracked 
by any thing save a moose or a panther, and you will 
be c most consarnedly ' tried before you reach it. 
Ah ! but the bare sight of the place will repay a thou- 
sand ills ! Our party of four took there with a fly, 
within an hour of our arrival, thirty-eight brook-trout, 
which would average two pounds each ! That's what 
we call sport ! " 

Mr. Porter made an agreeable excursion in Au- 
gust, 1843, to Stonington, to enjoy, with two friends 
passing the hot months there, bass and black-fishing. 
He gives his hints upon the subject : 

" For sea-bass, if you do not stand on a rock and 
throw into the surf, you sail from end to end over 



24:0 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

the reef, which is far preferable for sport, though it is 
usually very rough. Fish for these sea-bass with a 
small but first-rate salmon line of a hundred yards in 
length ; the best bait is a sort of squid, made thus : 
Take an eel about a foot long, and with your pen- 
knife make an incision an inch in length beneath his 
jaws ; then carefully cut off his head without ruptur- 
ing the skin, turn it over his back, and peel him 
entire. After turning the skin right side outwards, 
take your lower hook (you must have two tied on a 
piece of gimp) and pass it through the eel's mouth, 
and down his body about four inches from the head, 
then pull it through the skin of the belly. The 
upper hook, which of course is to be tied on, on the 
opposite side of the gimp, to the lower, you must 
now insert well back in the eel's mouth, and turn the 
point up through his head. Be careful that you place 
your hooks in the eel's skin at the exact distance at 
which they are tied on, otherwise your bait will have 
an unnatural appearance, and will not work well. 
Secure your upper hook tidily to the skin with a 
thread, and carefully adjust your sinker ; with such a 
squid, provided you manage it well, you ought to take 
thirty bass in a single tide, that is, on the last of the 
ebb, and the first of the flood. You must troll across 
the reef selected for the sport, and Frank Blake, in 
twenty minutes, will put you to many i artful dodges ' 
to insure success. 

"No thoroughbred sportsman will use any bor- 
rowed article, either for fishing or shooting, if he can 
possibly avoid it. 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 241 

" Go to Conroy's, 52 Fulton Street, and order the 
following ' traps : ' 

1 ' New London ' hemp line, on a creel. 

1 striped bass or salmon line, 100 yards. 

1 doz. Hemming's or Kirby's black-fish hooks, on snells. 

1 " assorted Hemming's black-fish hooks, straight and 

curved. 
1 doz. best hemp snoods. 

1 " Kirby's and Limerick assorted bass-hooks, on snells or 
gimp. 

4 sinkers — from £ lb. to 1 lb. 

2 squids for blue fish — boue and metal. 
1 doz. cod hooks. 

" With this tackle one may be considered armed all 
in proof for bass, blue, black or king-fish, flounders, 
drum, cod, haddock, or pretty much any thing else 
you can scare up." 

• 

ARTIFICIAL TROUT-FLIES, OCT. 12, 1844. 

" We are indebted to the kindness of Robert Em- 
mett, Esq., of this city, for one of the most acceptable 
presents which fortune ever c buckled on our back ; ' a 
present doubly gratifying as coming from one of the 
most ardent and accomplished disciples of old Izaak 
Walton in the United States. The acquaintances of 
our time-honored old friend, General G., of Washing- 
ton City, a veteran of the regular army, will not fail 
to remember his manifestations of delight upon re- 
ceiving from his friend Sir Charles Yaughan, after 
the latter's return to England from his diplomatic 
mission here, a capacious book, filled with a superb 
11 



242 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

collection of artificial flies. With no tithe of the 
General's ability to express his grateful acknowl- 
edgments, we still do not yield to him in the sincerity 
of onr appreciation of the generous impulses which 
prompted this characteristic token of regard from a 
brother angler. In the case before us we find first a 
dozen rare flies, dressed by the veritable hands of the 
renowned Paddy Kelly of Dublin, and tied on Limerick 
hooks of O'Shaughnessy's or Sell's bend — 'hooks not to 
be obtained for love or money in this country. Each 
one is worthy of a distinct engraving and a separate 
chapter. Next comes a dozen ' droppers,' the ex- 
quisite handiwork of the late lamented Father Levins, 
of this city, one of our most eloquent Catholic divines, 
among which ' the Professor,' (so named for Old Kit 
North, of Blackwood's Magazine,) the 'moth' and 
other ' killers ' are conspicuous. In another division 
we find an assortment of colored gut ' leaders,' one 
of which, made by Kelly of Dublin, fairly ' bangs 
Bannagher ! ' It tapers gradually — ' small by de- 
grees, and beautifully less '■ — from the loop which 
attaches it to the ' casting-line,' to the extreme point 
on which we should tie a ' gray palmer,' or a ' green 
drake,' according to the state of the water. It is stained 
with onion juice to the delicate hue of a blush on a 
cheek of alabaster. Two others, colored in masterly 
style by Mr. Emmett himself with tea, are perfect 
loves in their way, and there is one more, made by 
Father Levins, which to our eye is as precious as the 
£ rich jewel in an QEthiop's ear.' Last of all, in a 
cover of parchment, we find an assortment of Lim- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 243 

erick hooks of O'Skaughnessey's bend, and Kirby 
hooks of the ' Sneck ' bend, neither variety of which 
can be purchased in the United States." 

In the October number of the " American Turf 
Register " of 1840, is given an " American Hunter's 
Camp " from the graphic pencil of the lamented 
Rindisbacher ; it is spirited and faithful to a degree. 
The attitudes of the hounds are full of meaning and 
expression, as well as those of the two hunters ; all 
the accessories of the sketch are in felicitous keeping. 

" In the ' Backwoods ' of this country," Mr. Porter 
writes, " a hunter's camp is usually covered with spruce 
slabs or bark, while the bed is comprised of cedar 
sprigs, shin-hemlock or brush, over which the hunter 
spreads his blanket. Two years since, in a sporting 
trip to a remote section of the country, we frequently 
enjoyed the novelty of sleeping in a c camp ' — the 
work of half an hour — for nearly a week together, and 
contrived to make them warm and comfortable. First, 
we cut two crotched sticks, six feet long, and after 
sharpening their points, drove them into the ground 
as supporters of the fabric ; across these were laid the 
three string-pieces comprising the frame, the ends of 
two of them being securely fixed in the ground. 
Instead of splitting spruce planks for a roof — an opera- 
tion of a few minutes only — we peeled the bark of 
that tree, and turning the smooth side upwards, (lap- 
ping the pieces,) made the covering water-tight. 
When spruce will not peel, the balsam-fir and half a 
dozen other trees offer a substitute. For the sides we 



244: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

interlaced the birch and witch-hopple, and afterwards 
covered the whole with the tops of young trees of 
luxuriant foliage. Sprigs of cedar or hemlock make 
a soft, dry and fragrant bed, on which, after a good 
day's sport, one can enjoy such a night's rest as Sancho 
Panza never dreamed of, when he invoked blessings 
on him who first invented sleep ! The choice of site, 
which should be near a spring, and location of the fir, 
etc., depend upon circumstances. With no other 
instrument than a small axe, a backwoodsman can 
knock up a camp large enough to accommodate half a 
dozen most comfortably in half an hour." 



CHAPTEE IX. 

The nineteenth volume was begun with every 
prospect of unsurpassed prosperity. The number of 
contributors had doubled within the eighteen months 
previous, while daily accessions were made to the al- 
ready long list of subscribers in all parts of the globe. 
The " Spirit" at this time had a foreign circulation 
unequalled by any other paper in the United States ; 
it had found its way into all the European capitals, 
into the East and West Indies, and was read with as 
much gout at Canton, Batavia, Sydney and the Sand- 
wich Islands, as at home ; and what is far more re- 
markable, among his subscribers were several of our 
native Indians ! This volume, as was the twentieth, 
was stocked with an unusual variety of amusing and 
instructive matter, and Mr. Porter wrote : 

" As for the Editor, who, being a bachelor, ac- 
knowledges to the shady side of thirty, there or there- 
abouts, it may not be uninteresting to some of his ju- 
venile friends to state that he commenced this paper 
so long ago as the 10th of December, 1831, and has 
since gone on his way rejoicing," etc. 



246 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 

We may add that lie went out of his way in 
184:9, when the preceding paragraph was penned, 
and varied the routine of editorial labor by a 
visit to Boston, where he was welcomed by enthusi- 
astic friends to the quiet attractions of their firesides, 
and in due time complimented by a formal dinner at 
the Norfolk House. Not long after his return to New 
York he began to feel the first symptoms of gout, soon 
to become a fixed torment for the rest of his life. 

All went well among the brothers, and the future 
looked particularly encouraging, when the telegraph 
announced the sad intelligence of the death of George 
Porter. A letter from Frank addressed to his sisters 
in relation to the event demands an insertion as an 
act of respect to the memory of those two loving bro- 
thers : 

" New Oeleans, May 26, 1849. 
"To Maetha and Saeah: 

" The wires of the telegraph have long ere this revealed to 
you the dreadful news that this sad letter contains. 

" Our dear George rests quiet from all his toils and troubles, 
and his spirit is at peace. He died at the St. Charles Hotel on 
the morning of the 24th inst., and was buried from there in the 
Lafayette Cemetery the same afternoon. He complained of slight 
illness on the 16th, but did not finally stop work until the 18th. 
His disease was jaundice, caused by a morbid, bad state of the 
liver, producing seveie bilious fever, jaundice, brain fever and 
death. His principal physician was Dr. McCormick, of the army, 
a man of the highest standing and a personal friend. Dr. Wed- 
derburn was also called in. He was not considered in the least 
degree in a dangerous state by his friends until within twelve 
hours of his death, when a sudden change took place. He at 
once became highly delirious, but soon afterwards unconscious 
and speechless. He lay in this manner until near four o'clock 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 247 

in the morning, when he quietly breathed his last. Thus sud- 
denly passed away all of poor George. Doctors, nurses, friends, 
servants and every available means were at hand, but all to no 
purpose. Dr. McCormick informs me that he now thinks that 
the disease from the first day of his sickness had pervaded his 
system, and taken such strong and firm grasp that nothing could 
have saved him. It no doubt had long before fastened upon him 
its deadly grasp, and had worked its way insidiously when 
he was in apparent health. His general health had been un- 
usually good, and his friends had congratulated him upon look- 
ing better than at any time during his residence in Louisiana. 
His habits were very abstemious, and though very hard at work, 
he was cheerful. He at no moment, in my opinion, had the least 
idea that death was near him. 

" The spot where we laid him is one that would have well 
suited his own taste, even if the present high water had not cut 
off the route to a different one. It is in the city of Lafayette, ad- 
joining New Orleans, and is the highest land in the neighbor- 
hood ; full of trees, quiet and free from all confusion of business, 
and his particular vault is the highest of a high tier. There, be- 
neath the luxurious growth of that vegetation of which he was 
so fond, and upon the very banks of the mighty river whose 
swift but silent grandeur so awed his spirit, let him lie. 

" The funeral was very large, and of a peculiar character. I 
never before had an idea of the esteem and love so many bore 
him. The Eev. Mr. Olapp officiated. He was a personal friend 
and admirer of George ; the publication of his sermons in the 
Picayune had brought them into frequent intercourse. 

" Thus all is over, and now I am alone. I am sitting at his 
own table in the ' Picayune ' office, by the side of his favorite win- 
dow, in his chair, my feet on his old stool, his favorite pen in 
my hand. It is wonderful that I am alive after the events of the 
last few days ; life to me has no aim or object. I came here to 
be with him, and now he is gone. No one knew him besides 
myself ; I knew his outgoings and incomings. There was a tie 
between us most singular, although not always apparent. It is 
useless for me to explain or to add any thing." 



248 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

Thus passed away another of this band of broth- 
ers, who had achieved a reputation in a path of use- 
fulness for which he had no special attachment. 

" What now, alas ! that life-diffusing charm 
Of sprightly wit ? that rapture for -the muse, 
That heart of friendship, and that soul of joy, 
Which bade with softest light thy virtues smile ? 
Ah ! only show'd to check our fond pursuits, 
And teach our humbled hopes that life is vain I " 

The elder sister of the family, Mrs. Paine, passed 
a winter in New Orleans with her brothers, and we 
insert a portion of one of her recent letters, which 
contains an especial reference to George : 

"He was the cleverest of the brothers, the most schol- 
arly, and had the most common-sense. Added to his literary 
tastes was an eminently practical talent, and he was capable of 
long-continued and intense labor. During the seven years he 
was editor of the ' Picayune,' he never had a week's relaxation 
at a time, and sometimes during the Mexican war was the only 
man in the office for weeks together. Besides fulfilling his du- 
ties as editor, he found time for extensive reading, and he was 
far advanced in modern notions of philosophy, religion and re- 
form." 

Professor S. G. Brown of Dartmouth College, a 
classmate of George Porter, thus writes of him to Mrs. 
Brinley : 

" From my early boyhood, as you know, until we graduated, 
George was my companion and friend. Afterwards our paths 
separated, and I saw comparatively little of him, but always fol- 
lowed his course with great interest. I have indeed only this 
very day returned from Haverhill, where I again ran over the 
orchards and pastures in which we used to play together, and the 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 249 

hills down which we used to slide, and sat upon the very benches 
where more than thirty years ago we studied Virgil and Cicero 
under the instruction of Mr. Mack. George had a very vigorous 
and active mind. He was enterprising and somewhat ambitious, 
and successful. At Meriden, before he was thirteen, he gave 
an oration before a little society, of which we were members, on 
Eloquence. I thought it was a very good one, and I am sure it 
spread his fame as far as twelve miles, for I remember hearing it 
talked about in Hanover. We always met in George's room, 
where we had a little stage erected for the use of the orators ; 
and I presume none of us have ever had more satisfactory tri- 
umphs than in that little room, with an audience of a dozen 
boys. George was very fond of speaking, and declaimed with 
great beauty. This was true at Haverhill. I remember now his 
speaking ' The Sailor Boy ' at Meriden, and in college, where 
he carried away several prizes. He was a very good writer, and 
often distinguished himself by the excellence of his compositions. 
His mind was quick and tenacious ; he learned with great facili- 
ty, and had his knowledge much at command. I should think he 
was more fond of languages than of mathematics. He was in- 
terested in the study of history, of which, while in college, he 
had marked out for himself a pretty extensive course of reading. 
I always prophesied eminence for him in his profession, and I have 
no doubt that if he had devoted himself to it with half the per- 
sistency with which many pursue it, he would not only have been 
distinguished, but very much so. I never knew the reason of 
his giving it up, but it always seemed to me that in doing so he 
made a mistake. He must have become eminent as an advocate, 
and his sagacity and practical good judgment and acuteness 
would have found ample scope and abundant reward. His re- 
moving from New England, and still more from New York, 
seemed to me much like a personal loss." 

There are few persons who saw and heard George 
speak in pnblic at the time he won his prizes for de- 
clamation in his college days, who did not prophesy 
11* 



250 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

that the forum was destined to be the true sphere for 
the exercise of his oratorical talent ; and no one with 
more sanguine expectation than his keen-eyed old 
uncle, who had watched him from the start, advising 
and guiding him with the tenderness and devotion of 
a father, selecting always the themes best suited for 
his elocutionary displays, and at all times forcing into 
vigor and breadth his youthful faculties, with a tact 
which it is well known few possessed in a more re- 
markable degree than Mr. Olcott. 

The New Orleans Press was unanimous in ex- 
pressions of regret at the loss of their favorite and re- 
spected associate. 

" Common eulogy," writes the " Picayune," " on Lis merits 
as a gentleman and a scholar would be a faint tribute on our part. 
Innumerable testimonies of the exalted position he occupied in 
both these distinctions exist beyond the limited circle of this of- 
fice, in written characters, the production of his vigorous un- 
derstanding, and in sorrowing hearts that bleed spontaneously 
as memory recalls his polished manners, his undeviating urbanity, 
his warm and generous nature. Mr. Porter was a fine specimen 
of an American gentleman. His mind, which was richly endow- 
ed by nature, had received a careful academical training, and 
considerable intercourse with the world enabled him to seize 
character at a glance. These circumstances gave him a grasp 
of intellect that conspicuously displayed itself in every thing he 
wrote, evincing that manly vigor of thought and that accuracy 
of judgment which are invaluable in the journalist, who has the 
laudable ambition of acting up to the full dignity of his mission. 
As for his private virtues, we make this simple record : We have 
yet to know the created being that ever manifested hostility to 
him in word or deed. Indeed, so unobtrusive were his manners, 
so gentle was he in character, that the contrast between his ca- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 251 

pacity and his pretensions forced itself involuntarily on all who 
came within the sphere of his action. He was emphatically — to 
borrow a line from the beautiful record of the poet Gay — • 

'In wit a man, simplicity a child.' 
******* 

" It has been said that the best monument of a writer's fame 
is the work of his brain. "Were the labors of the journalist of a 
character less ephemeral, less evanescent than they necessarily 
are — the echo as it were of a sound borne to the ear in the pass- 
ing breeze — we might, in pride of our deceased colleague's high 
intelligence, pure philanthropy, refined taste and sparkling wit, 
point to our files for the last seven years as the most lasting 
mementos of his worth. Peace to his manes ! " 

The " Crescent " thus feelingly chronicles his 
death : 

" We were yesterday called on to consign to the grave the 
mortal remains of one who but a few days ago was full of life 
and vigor and activity. But a short time previous to his decease, 
the friends of Mr. Porter had no idea of his approaching death. 
And now that he is gone — now that the face once beaming with 
intelligence and fine feeling has disappeared — it is hard to realize 
the thought that we shall see no more of him who was but yes- 
terday the amiable companion and the attached friend. 

" To the immediate friends and acquaintances of Mr. Porter, it 
is useless to say how much they have lost in losing him whom 
they yesterday buried. To know him was to respect — nay, 
almost to love him. Even the casual acquaintance felt bound, 
by no ordinary tie, to one who carried his heart in his hand, and 
whose free, open, generous nature attracted the affection of 
whoever approached him. The friends of the deceased can 
appreciate those virtues which are rarely known except to a 
man's intimate acquaintances — the sensibility and delicacy of 
feeling almost feminine, joined to an elevation of sentiment ana 



252 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

strength of will that were possessed by few men. But the New 
Orleans public are hardl y aware of the loss they have sustained in 
the death of Mr. Porter. His usefulness to the community was 
known to but few, for his influence was of the sort which is felt 
and not seen. 

" Mr. Porter was a native of Vermont, and had studied law in 
New York ; but for the last seven or eight years he was a resi- 
dent of New Orleans, and has been, during that time, the asso- 
ciate editor of the Picayune newspaper. As his name never 
appeared in that journal, its numerous readers were not cogni- 
zant of how much they owed to Mr. Porter's industry, energy 
and intelligence. With a zeal that seemed unbounded, and a 
will that appeared unyielding, he devoted himself to his arduous 
duties as if taking pleasure in labor, and seeking constant em- 
ployment for the acute and active intellectual powers with 
which he was endowed. He never relaxed his efforts to instruct 
and please the public ; and, with a generosity careless of praise 
and reward, he studied only how to make himself useful to the 
community in which he had cast his lot. 

" He has gone !■ — the mind that has been so active for the good 
of others, has departed from our midst ! But such a man cannot 
soon be forgotten ; nor will his place be easily supplied. The 
heart that has so often beat in sympathy with the feelings of 
others is still ; the brain that was so constant in its efforts for 
others' good, has ceased from its labors. But it will be long be- 
fore the memory of George Porter will escape from the hearts 
and minds of his friends, and of those who, without being per- 
sonally acquainted with him, were cognizant of his many virtues 
and extensive capacity." 

The " Daily Bee," in allusion to his scholarship, 

says : 

" He possessed enormous industry, great readiness and tact, 
and a capability of endurance in the ceaseless round of his labors 
that few men exhibit. 

' ' There was not a particle of acerbity in his character. His pen 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 253 

never distilled gall, for bitterness was an element unknown in 
his kindly and genial organization. He has left hosts of friends 
to mourn his death, with a sorrow that will ever be associated 
with the memory of as gentle a spirit as ever toiled in the 
thankless travail of journalism. 

" The funeral of Mr. Porter took place yesterday afternoon, 
and his mortal remains were attended to their earthly resting- 
place by a large concourse, mainly consisting of friends whose 
attachment had been won by the endearing qualities of the de- 
ceased. He was interred at Lafayette Cemetery, and in that 
receptacle of the dead there sleeps not a nobler spirit than ani- 
mated the soul of him whom, with imposing and affecting 
ceremonies, we saw deposited in the silent habitation of the 
departed." 

"Among the man y touching and most grateful let- 
ters of condolence which we have received this week," 
writes the Editor of the " Spirit," " is the following 
from the pen of William H. Herbert :" 

" My Deae Poetee — It is with something of reluctance that 
I intrude upon what some persons might consider a private 
matter and one unfitted for notice in your columns — I mean the 
death of my esteemed friend and your beloved brother Geoege ; 
but I have been determined not to allow any fastidious delicacy 
to prevent my offering my tribute of affectionate homage to the 
memory of one whom I truly and sincerely regarded both in a 
private and public capacity. 

" There is the more fitness in this, that but for Geoege Poetee 
there would never have been, so far as the world is concerned, 
any Peank Poeestee to pen these brief lines as a testimony to 
his amiable qualities and his high talents. 

" It was, as you well remember, I doubt not, during one of 
your protracted visits to the South, while George was pro tem- 
pore in command of the ' Spirit,' that, as much at his sugges- 
tion as in consequence of my own views on the subject, I adopted 



254: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

that signature as in some sort typical of the craft and charactei 
of a sportsman, in connection with a series of papers intended to 
popularize sportsmanship, and to divest it, in the eyes of the 
many, from the prestige of brutality and rudeness with which it 
seemed to be invested. 

" How far those papers were successful this is not the time, 
nor am I the person, to state, but the name has become so far 
current with the readers of the ' Spirit,' that I do not fear 
being considered intrusive or impertinent in addressing a few 
lines to you on this painful subject. 

" Few words have I to say beyond this, that in an acquaint- 
ance which began years ago, prior, I think, to any intimacy 
between you and myself, which has endured, ^unaltered by time, 
and enhanced, perhaps, rather than diminished, by absence, I 
have seen, heard or known no one incident of his life, no one 
point of his career, which I would have desired to see changed 
in my own brother ; that all has proved him the kind, consid- 
erate, honorable gentleman, the man of energy and talent, whom 
none knew but to love and praise. 

" Honor and respect in life he had, and now is at peace — where 
may we all have cause to rest as well — in the quiet repose of an 
honorable grave. 

" Your sincere friend, Fkank Foeestee. 

" The Cedaes, 1st June." 

At tile commencement of the year 1852, both 
"William and the " Doctor " were hard at work in 
their several spheres of duty, with a fair prospect of 
years of useful life. ' On Eew Year's Day the " Doc- 
tor " made a round of visits, and was often compli- 
mented on his fine health and exuberant spirits. It 
was cold and damp, and the sudden transitions from 
the heat of crowded drawing-rooms to the penetrating 
chilliness of the external air, brought on an acute ill- 
ness, which soon became irremediable ; and on the 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 255 

sixth of the month he placidly fell asleep in the arms 
of death, before his relatives were aware of his illness. 
His funeral took place on the eighth of the month 
from Grace Church, from whence he was borne to 
Greenwood, and deposited in the lot which he had 
selected the year previous for the last resting-place of 
himself and brothers. On the Saturday following his 
death, an obituary notice of him appeared in " The 
Spirit of the Times," from the pen of his accomplished 
friend William Henry Herbert, who, from long ac- 
quaintance and a generous appreciation of Doctor Por- 
ter, was admirably qualified to breathe a last tribute 
to his memory : 

' Quis desiderio sit pudor aut modus 
Tarn cari capitis. 

" On Tuesday, January 6th, died, at his residence in this city ? 
after a very few days' illness, Dr. T. Olcott Poetee, in the 49th 
year of his age ; in the fullness of his intellectual capacities and 
the vigor of his mature manhood, taken away from the large 
circle of friends, who truly loved him as a brother, by a disease 
so sudden and insidious, that many of those who cherished his 
intimacy the most closely learned only that he was indisposed at 
all, by the lamentable tidings that he would be indisposed no 
more forever. 

" To descant largely upon the character and qualities of him 
who has been so suddenly removed from us, to the readers of 
this paper, would seem almost a work of supererogation, so well 
and widely was he known ; still, there are doubtless many who 
will be pleased to have a brief memorial of the circumstances of 
his happy and blameless life, which they may preserve and lay 
by as something tangible and real, of one concerning whom it 
may be said, more truly than of almost any other mortal man — 

" ' None knew him but to love, 
None named him but to praise.' 



256 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

"Again, it has been urged that to dwell long upon the praises 
of the dead is, in the first place, in bad taste toward the living, 
and, in the*second, oftentimes injurious to the memory of the 
departed, by stirring up an envious feeling in the breast of 
others, like that which led the Athenian to ostracize Aristides, 
merely because he was aweary of hearing him ever called the 
Just. As to the former of these arguments, we have only to re- 
ply, that this is intended as no proud or boastful enumeration of 
high qualities and splendid deeds, but as an humble and sincere 
tribute to the calm and unobtrusive virtues of a peaceful and 
well-spent private life, endearing the deceased to all who came 
within the sphere of his attraction. As to the latter, the writer 
of this unpretending record has no fears, for of the late Dr. 
Poetee alone, of all the men he has ever seen or heard of, it may 
be emphatically asserted, that he never had an enemy. In a 
close and uninterrupted friendship of above eighteen years, he 
who writes this, not as a labored eulogy, but as the simple out- 
pouring of a wounded heart, never once heard one unkind or 
uncharitable expression concerning any living being fall from 
those lips, now so cold and silent, which, while life warmed 
them, were ever literally overflowing with the milk of human 
kindness. 

"Dr. Porter was born in the town of Newbury, in Vermont ; 
was educated at Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, where 
he graduated with distinction and high promise in the Human- 
ities. He afterward studied and practised medicine for some 
short space of time, but subsequently retiring from his profes- 
sion, devoted the last eighteen years of his life to literary pur- 
suits in this city, during the whole of which period the writer 
has known and loved him as a brother, and received from him 
all a brother's kindness. Many readers will remember him as 
connected with Mr. N. P. Willis in the conduct of the ' Cor- 
sair ' — probably the best literary journal ever published in New 
York — which was in fact wholly under his editorial control, 
owing its excellence to his unassisted abilities ; since his co-edi- 
tor was absent in Europe during nearly the whole term of its 
existence. He was, moreover, for many years an occasional con- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 257 

tributor to the columns of this paper, and as such was well 
known generally to all its readers, and personally to nearly all 
its correspondents and contributors. Tor many years he had 
been connected with Mons. Coudeet, in the management of a 
large and excellent school in this city, patiently practising a 
thankless and ill-rewarded profession, for which the clear sin- 
cerity of his mind, his equable and foresighted intellect, his fine 
taste and large reading, and, above all, his imperturbable good 
temper and unvarying kindness of heart, singularly qualified him.* 

"He was a man who might have been great by the exertion and 
display of his talents, which were of a high order, but that he 
was one who preferred being loved to being admired ; who was 
born to be the idol of a circle, rather than the wonder of a 
sphere. His reading was varied and extensive ; and, particu- 
larly in the ancient English authors, he was an elegant and 
finished scholar ; an excellent classic, a thorough and judicious 
historian, his criticism, for which his independence, clearness of 
perception, and candor, rarely qualified him, was of the highest 
order ; and we can say sincerely that there were few men living 
to whose judgment we would more readily have resigned our 
own, as to the merits or defects of a new book, a new actor or a 
new drama — nor any by whom we should have been more proud 
to be praised, than he whom we now deplore. 

"The characteristics of his intellectual abilities were elegance, 
ease and polish, clear judgment, fine taste, and high apprecia- 
tion of all that is beautiful and true, in letters, art and science. 

* Mr. Coudert had been ill for several weeks previous to the sick- 
ness of the Doctor, and the anxieties of the latter concerning the school 
when he too became confined to his chamber, were very much in- 
creased. The day before the death of Dr. Porter, Mr. Coudert sent 
his eldest son with a kind message concerning his health ; to his sur- 
prise, he found the Doctor up, and partly dressed, feeble as he was. 
He was greatly attached to the Doctor, and perceiving his extreme 
prostration, urged him to return to his bed. " No," rejoined the Doc* 
tor, " tell your father that I do not intend to shirk my duty." But he 
was exhausted by the effort, and from sheer debility was reluctantly 
obliged to follow the advice of his young friend. 



258 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 

Of his moral qualities the most remarkable were, that regular 
benignity, which was written on his fine face by the hand of 
God, as if by the fingers of man in a book, that perfect truth- 
fulness, candor, affection to his friends, and charity — in its most 
extended sense — toward all mankind, which literally caused 
every one who knew him to love him, and which will call tears 
from many an eye unused to weep, and awaken regrets in many 
a far-distant heart. Woe ! woe ! for thee, my brother and my 
friend ! " He died, as he had lived, so placidly and easily, that 
the change from time to eternity was scarce perceptible to 
those who watched beside him, probably scarce perceived by 
himself, until he awoke from the sleep of life to know himself 
immortal. 

" He is one of the few, the very few, for whom there is no fear 
— for whom Hope is all — Hope alone — certain as truth and 
Heaven. 

" To say that he never did evil to a living thing, is to say 
nothing ! For we verily believe, if it may be believed of any 
mortal man, that he never even thought evil of his neighbor. 
Eest is for the dead, and peace and happiness immortal : for 
those who remain behind, the weariness of memory, the loneli- 
ness of regret, the yearning for the untimely lost, which will not 
pass away until life itself shall have passed through the darkness 
of the grave, into the light of immortality. 

"Happy they who live as he lived — who shall die as he died 
— for if many a greater and many a wiser man has blazed upon 
the world, and died and been forgotten — none kinder, or better, 
or more beloved, ever adorned or charmed a circle. None ever 
left behind a fame more pure, a memory more fondly cherished, 
or longer to be remembered. 

"For him we do not pray for peace, since wherefore should 
we doubt that he, whose whole life was peacefulness, hath, by 
what we call death, been removed only from this mortal turmoil 
into the exceeding peace of the Lord ? Valeat in ceternum 
valeat ! " 

In a letter from William to Mrs. Brinley of this 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 259 

date he says : " The dear old Doctor is gone from me. 
I can do nothing to realize it. His kindness, his love, 
his counsels, his very being, were so interwoven and 
incorporated into all my life and thoughts, that I am 
bewildered and crushed to find him gone. The main 
defence that has stood by me from boyhood, which 
seemed so stable and so necessary to my well-being, 
is now laid level forever ! Frank and I are now left 
alone to battle on as best we can for the rest of our 
journey." 

"We come down to the year 1855, as the volumes 
of the immediately preceding years, though sparkling 
with items and amusing paragraphs from the old 
mint, do not contain any very salient articles by the 
Editor. His previous work had been never-ending, 
and a time had now come when he felt relieved from 
the duty of getting up elaborate leaders, by the 
continual flow of admirable contributions from gifted 
correspondents ; and never was mental repose so ne- 
cessary and so grateful to him, for the bright advent 
of the New Year was soon shrouded by the death of 
Frank, the youngest and the pet of the brothers, and 
who had been attached to the " New Orleans Pica- 
yune " for some seven years, during all which time his 
course was marked by signal and ever-increasing ability. 
His labors were exceedingly onerous, in view of his 
impaired health, and though scrupulously performed, 
his heart was not in them after the death of George. 
A voyage to Europe was recommended to him, and 
through the affectionate interest of Mr. Holbrook, the 
chief of the Picayune, it was accomplished, but with- 



260 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 

out material advantage to the invalid. We extract a 
few passages from his letter, dated New Orleans, the 
1st of May, 1854 : 

"I am off for Europe this evening, on board of the clipper 
ship ' Bostonian,' Oapt. King. She is a most beautiful vessel, 
of 1098 tons, entirely new, superb accommodations, and I am the 
only passenger, with a large parlor state-room to myself. * * * 
My present intention is to be absent five or six months, and to 
visit Liverpool, London, Paris, Marseilles, perhaps Naples, Yen- 
ice, Vienna, Hamburg, &c, &c. ; but much will depend on 
my health, time, expense, and other matters. I will more fully 
write you of my intended movements when in London or Paris. 
Should my health be so bad in the autumn that I think I should 
not be able to work if I returned home, I may, if I can make 
suitable arrangements, spend the winter in the south of Europe, 
and visit Constantinople, &c, which I much wish. Our paper 
has now several European correspondents, and Mr. Kendall, who 
lives with his family in Paris, thinks of going to Constantinople ; 
still I shall probably write some, and over my old signature of 
' Gleaner.' 

" My health and spirits are to-day good, for me ; my friends 
have been most kind and generous to me in all fashions, and lots 
of little ' fixins ' have been sent on board the ship for my com- 
fort on the voyage. I have worked long and faithfully for the 
' Pic ' office, and my services have been appreciated and gener- 
ously repaid. The attachment of Mr. Holbrook, the principal 
manager of the paper, to George, was strong, and is so to my- 
self, and I have no other such firm friend for life, who has the 
means, as himself. * * * I visited dear George's grave a 
few days ago, as is my frequent pleasure. My purest, dearest, 
and holiest recollections of life are connected therewith, and I 
trust it may be permitted me to lay my bones beside him. Ke- 
membrance of him and of our sainted mother is much oftener in 
my thoughts latterly than ever before." 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 261 

After Ms return from Europe, lie wrote from "Hew 
Orleans, January 1st, 1855 : 

" I owe you many apologies for sins of omission in not visit- 
ing or writing you, but I so dislike to be the bearer of bad news, 
that I have omitted even writing — putting it off from day to 
day. 

" My situation is now truly sad, as my health and strength 
seem entirely to have forsaken me, and I am now constantly 
confined to my room, with what I have too much reason to be- 
lieve is a confirmed consumption. My trip abroad did me no 
good, and as I was laid up in Paris for three weeks, I was weak- 
ened very much. Before I went away, my physicians were 
somewhat divided as to my disease, and my Paris physician 
assured me that I only had a very bad chronic disorder of the 
bronchial tubes. To this idea I clung until facts proved its in- 
correctness, and I find myself totally prostrate. 

" I hastened home to renew my labors, but I found on my 
arrival here, that my strength was not equal to their perform- 
ance, and I gave a portion of them up, retaining such as would 
call for the least physical exertion. One month's work used 
me up. * * * 

"My physician is Dr. "Wedderstrandt, as eminent a man, 
particularly in diseases of the lungs, as any in the country. For 
fourteen years he was the principal physician in our great Charity 
Hospital, and has of course had great experience. He is also a par* 
ticular friend of mine, and has taken much interest in my case. 
He has examined me critically, and has pronounced my luugs badly 
affected, as indeed my constant and shocking cough now too clear^ 
ly attests. * * The Doctor says : ' Follow my advice strictly, and 
you will be able to meet the warm spring weather, when I hope 
you will improve, and obtain strength enough to move about in 
the open ah*.' I am too much a man of the world not to know 
what all this means. It is a mere question of time, with me. 
No cough like mine can ever be cured. To be thus confined in 
the house, deprived of work, air, society and excitement, tasks 



262 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

my fortitude, while the prospect for the future is gloomy. I am 
now living in the family of my old friend, Madame Hall, where 
I am well nursed and cared for ; which I could not be at the St. 
Charles Hotel, my former home. I have a thousand minor ills 
and troubles ; but I will not worry you by relating them. I feel, 
however, that I ought to let you know of my feeble and sad con- 
dition. * * * 

" My trip, had my health and strength not failed me, would 
have been delightful. As it was, I worked hard, and saw much 
that interested me. Scarcely a place of ' high or low degree,' 
in London or Paris, that was famous, that I did not visit. I 
wrote nothing while I was absent, as I was too busily employed 
in sight-seeing ; but I came home with my mind well stored with 
that which would have interested my friends, and been a source 
of pleasing remembrance to me during a long life. My power 
of observation and comparison never had full scope before, and I 
improved the opportunity. * * * I saw all of high life I 
wished — I brought home many little trifles as souvenirs of some 
of the places I visited, which I should have been pleased to show 
you, had an opportunity offered. Many of my most pleasant 
days were spent in the galleries of art ; but I thrust myself into 
every species of amusement, gayety, sumptuous living, curiosity 
shop, palace and stable that promised to repay me. In fact, what 
I saw and learned, would be of more use to me could I live to 
manage it, than all I ever learned before. I never weary in 
talking over my adventures to my friends. * * * * 

" You may think that I write despondingly, but it is always 
better to look trouble full in the face. I know my own situation 
better than I can tell you, and I feel assured that I can only 
linger out a painful and troubled life, be the time long or short. 
I could fill pages did I dare to trust myself to speak of my thoughts 
and feelings, but it would be useless. 

" The merciful God who has thus far watched over me in my 
wanderings and vicissitudes, will not, I sincerely trust, forsake 
me in my hour of need ; that he may cherish and protect you 
both, is the fervent wish of your brother 

"Feank." 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 263 

In due course of mail, the following letter was re- 
ceived, all but the last sentence and signature being 
in the handwriting of a friend : 

" New Oeleans, February Sth, 1855. 

" To my Sistees — I am too feeble to write to-day, and have 
availed myself of the kindness of a friend, to commnnicate to 
yon. It was a long and dreary suspense from the first of Jan- 
uary till to-day, when I received Sarah's letter ; Martha's and 
"William's letters having reached me two days previously. But 
my confidence in her love and sympathy never forsook me ; I 
knew that some accident must have prevented an earlier reply. 

" My health and strength have rapidly failed me since I last 
wrote you, and I am now confined to my bed by the orders of 
my physician. My cough of itself is not very troublesome, al- 
though getting worse constantly ; but the many ills and diseases 
brought on by sympathy with the lungs, are very annoying. 

" I am surrounded by kind friends, who do all in their power 
to make me comfortable. If I am not able to write myself, some 
one else will write you very soon. Your letters have afforded 
me great consolation, and your mention of domestic matters has 
carried me back to the days of childhood. I still anticipate great 
pleasure from letters which must now be on their way from 
you." 

(The closing lines are in Frank's trembling hand, 
and were the very last ever written by him :) 

" God bless you, my dear sisters ; this is probably the last 
time I shall be able to say so to you. My last thoughts shall be 
of our mother and of you. 

" As ever, yours, 

" Feancis T. Poetee." 

The next intelligence was of his death, on the 28th 
of February. He was conscious to the last moment, 



264: life of William t. poetee. 

the almost inaudible prayer, " May God receive my 
soul," trembling on his lips as his spirit took flight. 
lie sleeps, as he desired, by the side of his brother 
George. 

When we consider that his academic education 
terminated by his own choice when he was quite 
young, and that his subsequent pursuits were not fa- 
vorable to mental cultivation, we marvel at the extent 
of his attainments, and recognize in his manner and 
style of composition the evidence of no ordinary de- 
gree of natural ability. 

From the numerous testimonials of respect to his 
memory in our possession, we make but a single ex- 
tract, and that from an obituary in the " Picayune : " 

" Francis Porter was a man of many fine traits of character, 
one of which was eminently distinctive — his innate sense of 
what constitutes true manly honor, We never knew a man 
whose instincts were more unerring in the detection of aught 
that was mean, sordid or unworthy in the characters of those 
with whom he was thrown in contact ; and he was never so 
earnest and decided in the expression of his opinions, as he was 
when denouncing or satirizing such traits. At the same time 
he was one of the most affectionate and attachable of friends and 
companions. His perceptions were quick, and his impulses gen- 
erous and noble. His temperament was of a character that, added 
to disappointments and private griefs, ' with which the stranger 
intermeddleth not,' occasionally clouded his mind with fits of 
morbid gloominess and abstraction. But the general course of 
his life, like the predominant tone in his character, was manly, 
consistent and innocent ; and now, 

4 After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well.' " 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 265 

By Frank's death William was thoroughly deso- 
lated. The attacks of gout for the rest of his life were 
frequent and severe, with little or no alleviation, from 
Sydney Smith's idea that it must have taken five or 
six generations of gentlemen to have given it such 
frightful vigor. It sometimes took French leave of 
him for months together, when he would resume his 
old desk with something of revived interest. But the 
main-spring was gone, and he soon returned to the 
solitude of his home in Bleecker Street ; or taking his 
trout-rod, solaced his weary spirits with an occasional 
easy drive out of the city. His benignant smile con- 
tinued unaltered, and those who casually met him 
during the year succeeding his last bereavement could 
not have suspected from his manner that he had to 
all intents and purposes about done with life. It was 
fame enough for him that the life-scheme which 
swelled in his heart the morning he left in the mail- 
stage for Andover, was already a fixed fact among the 
things of Time. The seed had been good and honest, 
and was planted by his own hand, when his tears and 
some brave hopes were about all he had to help to 
moisten and quicken it into life. He had waited long 
and patiently for its first small, humble shoot to strike 
through the hard, unyielding clod into the air and 
light, and had had the full satisfaction of seeing it ex- 
pand by his own bounteous and lavish culture, until 
its spreading branches sparkled in the sunshine of a 
generous and loving patronage, its roots all abroad to 
resist the battling of a century's storms. 

The " Salutatory" for the year 1856 has a flavor of 
12 



266 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 

the humor that for a quarter of a century had charmed 
and cheered the readers of the " Spirit." But from 
the day of the " Doctor's " death, he was unlike his 
former self; even his interest in the " Old Spirit" was 
much diminished. Up to this time no intimation had 
fallen from him that he could be induced to sever his 
connection with it ; yet most unexpectedly to his 
friends, on the 26th of September he permitted his 
name to be associated in the publication of another 
weekly Sporting Journal, called " Porter's Spirit of 
the Times." Old friends and old correspondents ral- 
lied round him, and the enterprise started with flying 
colors ; its success was unprecedented in the annals 
of the newspaper press, for as early as the eighth 
number it was " backed by a circulation of 40,000 
copies " ! To what extent Mr. Porter contributed to 
the literary portion of the paper, the writer will not 
assume the province of determining ; the probability is, 
that he did not compose any elaborate articles, except 
those to which his initials or other sure signs of pa- 
ternity are attached. Care, disappointment, and that 
sickness of heart which he concealed from the world, 
began to tell on face and form and mental activity, 
and he availed himself of a stipulated privilege to 
spare himself much of the labor that even to a recent 
day had been his delight and pride. The last articles 
which he furnished of any great consequence were 
obituary notices of his old and respected friends John 
C. Stevens, Esq., of New Jersey, and Colonel Wade 
Hampton, of South Carolina ; and they bear the 
stamp of that keen analysis and generous appreciation 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 26 7 

of character which, marked his numerous essays in 
that difficult form of composition. It has been stated, 
and no doubt correctly, that just before his death he 
was engaged in an elaborate biography of the late 
William Henry Herbert, whose untimely end was a 
source of universal and painful sorrow. 

Mr. Porter passed most of the last winter of his 
life at home, with books for companions when not re- 
ceiving the kind attention of his friends. His thoughts 
and conversation were often occupied with those di- 
vine truths which were stamped upon his soul in 
childhood at the knee of his mother : 

" Shadowy recollections; 
Which, be they what they may, 
Are yet a master-light of all our seeing ; 
Uphold us, cherish, and have power to make 
Our noisy years seem moments in the being 
Of the Eternal Silence ; truths that wake 

To perish never ; 
Which neither bitterness nor mad endeavor, 

Nor man nor boy, 
Nor all that is at enmity with joy, 
Can utterly abolish or destroy ! " 

For two months before his death he had been un- 
usually well and cheerful. On the night of Tuesday, 
July 13th, by imprudently leaving open a window in 
his sleeping-room, he took a severe cold, which result- 
ed in congestion of the lungs, and terminated his 
earthly career at half after nine on the morning of the 
following Monday. He was from the first impressed 
with the idea that it was his last illness, and with clear 
mind and firm serenity expressed his satisfaction that 



268 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 

the end was near at hand. The same urbanity, gentle 
patience, and thoughtfulness for others which marked 
his whole previous life, were equally conspicuous dur- 
ing these last days of mortal suffering. Just before 
the closing moment he requested to have the curtain 
of a window near his bed raised, that he might once 
more see the light of day. " How beautiful ! " he fer- 
vently murmured, as the sun broke into the room ; 
and as if he at that moment caught sight of the blue 
hills of Newbury, and the white paling of the cottage 
where he was born, or heard the far away toll of the 
village bell, which brought back to his fading memory 
the objects which surrounded his boyhood, he breathed 
the names of mother and father and brothers, adding 
with a last effort, " I want to go home," just as the 
veil which separates the things of Time from the In- 
finite Unseen, parted to admit him, as we fondly be- 
lieve, to their embrace. 

The intelligence of his death spread with electric 
rapidity throughout the land, and the melancholy re- 
sponse of the universal newspaper press told how 
sincere was the grief felt at the loss of one of its dis- 
tinguished ornaments. The funeral ceremonies took 
place at St. Thomas' Church, in the presence of a large 
audience of sympathizing friends. At their conclu- 
sion, the lid of the coffin, which rested between the 
reading-desk and the pulpit, was opened, and such of 
the congregation as desired to take a last view of his 
manly features, to which death had imparted a more 
than earthly beauty, were informed that they might 
do so. The whole congregation embraced the offer, 
and passed round as indicated. 



• LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 269 

A generous tribute to his memory appeared in the 
" Old Spirit," from the pen and from the heart of 
that sterling gentleman, James Oakes, Esq., of Bos- 
ton, who over the signature of " Acorn " has for so 
many years contributed to the value of its columns : 

" For more than twenty-five years have William T. Porter and 
myself battled our way on the banks of the river of life, as it 
were hand in hand, but in different professions. During that 
time I have never known him to wilfully commit an unmanly, 
ungenerous, unkind, dishonorable or even discourteous act, to 
his fellow-man. He, it is true, had his weaknesses, but they 
were those that did injustice to himself only — no wrong to 
others. It was his nature to be as gentle and as kind as a child, 
and so made up, and so harmoniously mingled in him were all 
those rare and extraordinary characteristics which go to make 
the high-toned, high-bred gentleman, that he possessed the power 
to fascinate every one with whom he came in contact, whether 
it were the little girl whom he trotted on his knee, the boy with 
whom he played, or the thoroughbred sporting gentleman. His 
mind was comprehensive, his perception keen, his deductions 
clear and concise ; whilst his judgment and decisions in all 
sporting matters were more reliable and more respected than 
any other man's in this country. He was the father of a school 
of American sporting literature, which is no less a credit to his 
name than it is an honor to the land that gave him birth. Many 
of his decisions and sporting reports will be quoted as authority 
for generations to come. He possessed a fund of sporting statis- 
tics unequalled by any other man in America. While living, he 
was respected and beloved by every one, no less for his child- 
like simplicity of nature, than for those high and manly charac- 
teristics which so strongly marked him as a journalist. His 
death will be deeply and sincerely mourned by every person who 
knew him. With much truth can it be said : 



'Thou art the ruin of the noblest man 
That ever lived in the tide of times. 1 ' 



270 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

George Wilkes, Esq., associate editor of " Porter's 
Spirit of the Times," furnished for that paper a 
tribute to his memory, from which we make the fol- 
lowing extract : 

"Loftiest among them all — with a gentleness and grace that 
so mingled man and woman in his nature that his own sex might 
love him even to tenderness, and not feel ashamed — William 
Poetee moved among the Livingstons, Hamptons, Stevenses, 
Stocktons, Joneses, Waddells, Longs, &c, making all happy by 
his cheerful spirit, and distributing favor by his presence, rather 
than receiving patronage. The merit of his paper, and the high 
character of these voluntary associations, not only drew around 
him the most distinguished writers and correspondents of the 
time, both at home and from foreign lands, but brought out a 
new class of writers, and created a style which may be denomi- 
nated an American literature — not the august, stale, didactic, 
pompous, bloodless method of the magazine pages of that day ; 
but a fresh, crisp, vigorous, elastic, graphic literature, full of 
force, readiness, actuality and point, which has walked up to 
the telegraph, and hardly been invigorated or improved by even 
the terse and emphatic lightning. This literature was not stewed 
in the closet, or fretted out at some pale pensioned laborer's desk, 
but sparkled from the cheerful leisure of the easy scholar — 
poured in from the emulous officer in the barracks, or at sea — 
emanated spontaneously from the jocund poet — and flowed from 
every mead, or lake, or mountain — in the land where the rifle or 
the rod was known. Of this literature, which is better known 
as ' American Sporting Literature,' Mr. Poetee may be said to 
be the founder and the head ; and for its creation and thousands 
of happy hours the people of the United States owe him as great 
a debt of gratitude as they do for that stimulation to the improve- 
ment of the breed of horses, which has made us already fore- 
most of all the world in the production of the most valuable 
species of working and pleasure stock. 

" The life of Mr. Poetee, for the thirty years which termi- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 271 

nated with his management of this paper, was not marked by 
any striking incidents. His life flowed equably from day to day ; 
and year by year parted company with him, without taking on 
its record a single quarrel or scarcely a ruffled feeling against 
any being in the world. 

" He was peculiarly qualified to be endeared to every thing 
that came within his presence ; and his kind nature was so justly 
balanced and so free from all invidious inclination, that, by com- 
mon consent, he was received throughout the country as the 
umpire of all controverted points, not only in matters growing 
out of the specialities of his paper, but in all questions of friendly 
argument, which would not take parties into court. During his 
editorial career, he has probably decided more disputes, involving 
the award of money, than any judge who ever sat upon a bench ; 
and what is most remarkable in this connection is, that his de- 
cisions were always cheerfully acquiesced in, and never were 
made the subject of appeal. To use the language of a contem- 
porary : ' He seemed to live without an enemy ; and at the time 
of his death, he was probably the best known of any man in 
New York who had never filled an official place ! ' " 

In the same paper appeared these stanzas by K. 
S. Chilton, Esq., of Washington, which were repub- 
lished in the " Knickerbocker " of February last : 

IN MEMORY OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 

A heart where kindly words and deeds 

The founts were still unsealing, 
Whence flowed, unchecked through all their course, 

The streams of generous feeling ; 
A kind, true heart, that with the joys, 

Could share the griefs of others ; 
And ne'er forsook the grand old faith 

That all mankind are brothers. 



272 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 

A soul in which the manlier traits, 

And gentler, were so blended, 
That none could say where these began, 

Or where the others ended : 
Alas ! to fitly speak his worth 

All words seem poor and common, 
In whose large spirit Nature fused 

The tenderness of Woman ! 

Enough ! his heart has ceased to beat ; 

His soul has passed the portal 
That shuts the other world from this, 

And what remains is mortal. 
But long as brave and gentle hearts 

Are held in memory's keeping, 
Our fond and sorrowing thoughts will haunt 

The grave where he is sleeping. 

K. S. C. 

Similar testimonials from all parts of the Union 
are before ns. The "London Times" appropriately 
noticed his death, and referred to him as " a man 
known world-wide." These we lay aside for our pri- 
vate gratification, with the conviction that " this post- 
humous esteem reached no higher attitude," to use the 
words of a contemporary editor, " than that which 
was felt and uttered for the living man." 

In bringing this volume to a close, we take the 
highest satisfaction in the reflection that the design 
of compiling a Memoir of William T. Porter did not 
originate in an exaggerated estimate of his genial and 
beneficent nature, of his magical power to attract and 
secure the warmest affection of all who were brought 
within its influence, of that rare combination of child- 
like confidence and sagacious self-reliance in his in- 



LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 273 

tercourse with the world, or of that large-heartedness 
which made him, perhaps, too much given to hospi- 
tality, a failing so near akin to a Christian virtue ; by 
neither of these considerations were we stirred, but 
rather by an admiration of that indomitable energy 
which enabled him to carry out from its first and dis- 
couraging inception to a successful issue, the fixed, 
definite, precise, great idea of his youth, the introduc- 
tion and advancement of a fresh, original and capti- 
vating department of letters, and by the conviction 
that his editorial progress illustrated a truth which 
there is a tendency in youth to disregard, that vague 
and loose application will be barren of fruitful results, 
while courage and constancy are but equivalents to 
success and fame. 

" Who is the happy warrior ? who is he, 
That every man in arms should wish to be ? 
It is the generous spirit who, when brought 
Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought 
Upon the plan that pleased his boyish thought : 
Whose high endeavors are an inward light 
That makes the path before him always bright : 
Who, with a natural instinct to discern 
What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn ! " 

So long as a love of recreation is recognized as 
" one of the features impressed on man's spirit by the 
Divine Creator," so long we venture to believe the 
name of William T. Porter will live. 










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